/2..2-^.2.o. 


LIBRARY  OF  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 

PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


Purchased  by  the  Hamill  Missionary  Fund. 


li^.-LSP  7 


Section: 


I 


I 


IN  UNKNOWN  CHINA 


% 


4 I 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/inunknownchinare00poll_0 


Some  Wondektul  Nosu  IIkad-drksses 


Huge  (luantitics  of  dyed  woo)  arc  plaited  into  the  hair. 


IN 

UNKNOWN  CHINA 

A RECORD  OF  THE  OBSERVATIONS,  ADVENTURES  AND 
EXPERIENCES  OF  A PIONEER  MISSIONARY  DUR- 
ING A PROLONGED  SOJOURN  AMONGST 
THE  WILD  AND  UNKNOWN  NOSU 
TRIBE  OF  WESTERN 
CHINA 


S.  POLLARD 

AUTHOR  Of  “ IN  TIGHT  CORNERS  IN  CHINA,” 
“THE  STORY  Of  THE  MIAO,”  6'f.  S'C. 


WITH  MANY  ILLUSTRATIONS  THREE  MAPS 


PHILADELPHIA 

J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 

LONDON:  SEELEY,  SERVICE  6-  CO.  LTD. 


MDCCCCXXI 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  1 

PACE 

The  Girl  with  the  Coral  Beads  . . .17 

CHAPTER  II 

The  Yanotse  in  its  real  Home  .....  25 

CHAPTER  III 

The  Secret  of  the  White  Towers  .....  37 

CHAPTER  IV 

The  Aboriginacs  of  West  China  .....  50 

CHAPTER  V 

Down  to  the  Ferry  ........  6l 

CHAPTER  VI 

Winning  our  First  Game  . . . . . . . 71 

CHAPTER  VII 

Lifting  the  Veil  ........  80 

» 

CHAPTER  VIII 

The  First  Stop  in  Nosuland  ......  88 

CHAPTER  IX 

Marriage  Proposals  and  the  W'ater-Supply  ...  96 

CHAPTER  X 

Supper  k la  Nosu  . . . . . . . .105 

1 1 


12 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  XI 

The  Fahmstead  in  the  Valley  .... 

PA08 

114 

CHAPTER  XII 

F1RES.1DE  Yarns  ....... 

126 

CHAPTER  XIII 

The  Feudal  System  ...... 

137 

CHAPTER  XIV 

Stories  about  Earth  Eyes  .... 

146 

CHAPTER  XV 

More  about  Earth  Eyes  ..... 

156 

CHAPTER  XVI 

Morality  or  the  Aboriginals  .... 

170 

CHAPTER  XVII 

A Trio  or  Mysteries  ..... 

180 

CHAPTER  XVIII 

On  the  March  again  ..... 

. 193 

CHAPTER  XIX 

How  WE  STOPPED  THE  FlGHT  .... 

201 

CHAPTER  XX 

Rapids  ahead  ....... 

210 

CHAPTER  XXI 

More  Yarns  and  the  Solitary  Girl 

219 

CHAPTER  XXII 

The  Friendly  Widow’s  Home  .... 

. 229 

CONTENTS  ]3 

CHAPTER  XXIII 

PAOI 

Hn.L  VVahfahe  and  State  Robes  .....  237 

CHAPTER  XXIV 

In  the  Grip  of  the  Demon 248 

CHAPTER  XXV 

The  Written  Lanouaoe  and  Manuscripts  . . . 256 

CHAPTER  XXVI 

Back  into  the  Danger  Zone  ......  267 

CHAPTER  XXVII 

The  Plot  that  failed  .......  277 

CHAPTER  XXVIII 

Up  the  Hills  and  Home  again  .....  288 

CHAPTER  XXIX 

Query?  China’s  Hidden  Menace  .....  298 

CHAPTER  XXX 

The  Candid  General  and  the  Conceited  Artist  . . S06 

CHAPTER  XXXI 

A Wreath  of  Stones  around  Coral  Beads  . .315 


Index  . 


321 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGB 

Some  VV'ondkrful  Nosu  Head-dresses  . . . Frontitpiece 

Maize  stacked  in  Trees  .......  S2 

Shoeing  a Horse  .........  32 

Good  Example  of  the  White  Towers  ....  40 

Stockade  on  a Hill  ........  56 

A Group  of  Young  Aboriginals.  . . . . . 56 

Swift  Waters  of  the  Upper  Yangtse  ....  80 

How  THE  HiLLMEN  FIGHT  . . . . . .112 

An  Aboriginal  Village  . . . . . . .112 

Mountain  Castle  of  Earth  Eye  Lo  . . . . .14+ 

An  Earth  Eve  Widow  . . . . . .152 

A Nosu  and  his  Daughter  . . . . . .152 

Group  of  Aboriginals.  . ...  176 

14 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Hili.  Road  in  West  China  ...... 

A Bridge  leading  to  Nosuland  .... 

Market  Village  on  the  Hills  .... 

Nosu  Girls  ......... 

Houses  of  Refuge  .... 

Nosu  Armour  ........ 

A Long  Nosu  Gun  ...... 

Buildings  roofed  with  Bark  .... 

An  Underground  River  ..... 


15 

fAGS 

200 

200 

216 

232 

240 

248 

248 

264 

280 


MAPS 

Map  of  Nosuland 

Map  of  the  Yangtse  Kiang 

Map  of  China  (General) 


16 

17 

324 


Seeley  Service  & Co-,  LU- 


The  \ angtse  Kiang  its  Tributaries  and  Bordering  Provinces 

Nosuland  lies  between  lat.  26  and  28,  and  long.  102  and  104 


wnos*‘  coriniry  h** 


IN  UNKNOWN  CHINA 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  GIRL  WITH  THE  CORAL  BEADS 

SHE  sat  on  the  earth  floor  one  side  of  the  blazing 
wood  fire,  and  I sat  on  a black  bearskin  on  the 
other  side  of  the  same  wood  fire.  Neither  spoke  a 
word  to  the  other.  She  was  a young  girl  of  eighteen  years 
of  age,  and  was  smoking  a long  pipe.  From  her  ears  hung 
strings  of  amber  and  coral  beads,  from  eighteen  inches  to 
two  feet  long,  and  every  now  and  again  she  shaded  her 
eyes  from  the  blaze  or  smoke  of  the  fire.  Constant  proximity 
to  a smoky  fire  had  evidently  made  her  eyes  somewhat 
sore.  Now  and  again  we  ^laneed  at  each  other,  but  as 
neither  could  speak  the  other’s  language,  and  we  had  only 
that  day  met,  there  was  not  much  advance  made  towards 
friendship.  As  I was  leaving  again  the  next  morning,  it 
seemed  very  likely  that  we  should  slip  out  of  each  other’s 
lives  without  even  a word  having  passed  between  us.  She 
would  go  her  way  as  the  daughter  of  a great  Nosu  chieftain, 
whose  home  was  among  the  mighty  hills  of  that  independent 
land  in  Western  China,  which  has  never  yet  been  conquered 
by  the  Chinese  overlords.  Perhaps  now  and  again  she  would 
remember  with  faint  interest  the  Englishman,  who  was  the 
first  European  to  penetrate  into  the  mysterious  land  where 
she  dwelt.  But  while  we  were  blinking  at  the  fire,  and  I 
B 17 


18  THE  GIRL  WITH  THE  CORAL  BEADS 


was  wondering  why  bearskins  were  not  padded,  and  why 
they  were  almost  as  hard  as  the  earth  floor,  others  were 
plotting  to  bring  the  two  who  sat  by  the  fire  closer  together. 

In  another  part  of  the  room  squatted  the  brother  of  the 
girl  with  the  long  pipe  and  coral  ear-rings,  and  the  Nosu 
chief  who  had  guided  the  Englishman  into  the  heart  of  the 
countiy,  where  dwell  the  Avild  hillmen  so  dreaded  by  the 
Western  Chinese.  These  tAVo  men  Avere  in  deep  com'^ersa- 
tion,  and  though  it  AA^as  all  in  a tongue  foreign  to  me,  I heard 
them  several  times  use  the  Avords  “Nhe  Chah-Chah,”  and 
that  being  the  name  Avhich  the  Nosu  tribesmen  had  given  to 
the  stranger  who  had  come  among  them,  I kncAV  that  the 
conversation  had  some  reference  to  me.  I surmised  that  no 
harm  Avas  meant  to  the  guest,  for  they  smiled  too  pleasantly, 
and  looked  too  good-tempered  for  persons  Avho  Avere  plotting 
evil. 

At  last  curiosity  got  the  better  of  the  Englishman,  and  he 
could  Avait  no  longer.  He  begged  his  friend  the  guide  to 
tell  him  Avhat  was  the  subject  of  the  earnest  interesting  con- 
versation Avhich  the  tAA'o  Avei*e  holding.  Then  Mr  Long,  my 
friend  the  Nosu  chief,  startled  me  by  his  story.  When  he 
had  finished  telling  me  Avhat  the  tAvo  had  been  talking  about, 
I began  to  Avish  I had  never  seen  the  house  in  Avhich  liATd 
the  young  girl  AA'ith  the  long  pipe  and  the  coral  beads.  These 
independent  Nosu  tribesmen  had  ne\"er  before  seen  a 
European,  and  my  guide  aaIio  had  come  AA'ith  me  from 
Chinese  territory  south  of  the  River  Yangtsc,  where 
Europeans  arc  frequently  seen,  had  evidently  been  telling 
some  tall  stories  about  the  stranger  ho  had  conducted  into 
the  heart  of  tlw  great  hill  land.  I do  not  fully  knoAV  Avhat 
yarns  he  told  about  me,  but  I knoAV  that  he  drcAv  a long 


THE  GIRL  WITH  THE  CORAL  BEADS  19 

bow,  and  that  he  also  drew  heavy  cheques  upon  his  ima- 
gination in  order  to  impress  the  tribesmen  with  the  great 
importance  of  the  Englishman,  who  appeared  among  them, 
as  they  termed  it,  “ like  a star  from  the  heavens.”  WTien 
they  saw  I was  not  Chinese,  and  heard  that  our  Englishwomen 
have  natural  feet,  and  \\'ear  skirts  as  do  the  Nosu  women, 
and  do  not  bind  up  their  feet  and  wear  trousers,  as  do  the 
Chinese  women,  they  took  to  me  at  once,  and  received  me 
as  a Nosu  from  the  land  of  the  distant  sunset.  They  wished 
to  go  one  step  farther,  and  proposed  that  I should  marry 
one  of  their  girls,  and  settle  down  among  them  as  chief  of 
four  of  their  tribes.  The  girl  they  had  chosen  for  me  to 
marry  was  the  girl  on  the  other  side  of  the  fire  with  the  long 
pipe  and  coral  ear-rings.  My  ! Here  was  a pretty  kettle  of 
fish  ! I wondered  what  the  girl  thought  as  she  listened  to 
the  animated  conversation  of  the  two  chiefs  squatting  on 
the  floor,  and  was  curious  enough  to  ask  my  friend.  He  told 
me  that  the  girl  was  quite  willing  to  carry  out  her  share  of 
the  bargain.  Indeed  in  the  next  few  hours  she  seemed 
almost  certain  that  the  match  would  come  off,  and  looked 
upon  the  Englishman  as  already  her  property.  It  appar- 
ently did  not  occur  to  her  that  anyone  would  refuse  such  an 
eligible  offer. 

Tlie  bearskin  I was  sitting  on  suddenly  seemed  to  get 
verj'  hot,  and  when  I remembered  it  was  almost  impossible 
to  escape  from  where  I was  back  to  the  swift-flowing  Yangtse, 
which  was  the  outer  barrier  between  me  and  the  Chinese 
territory'  where  I should  be  in  safety,  I began  to  feel  very 
uncomfortable. 

Rumours  and  even  news  fly  apace  in  inland  China.  It 
used  to  be  supposed  that  the  interior  of  the  great  emph’e, 


20  THE  GIRL  WITH  THE  CORAL  BEADS 


as  it  then  was,  never  busied  itself  with  what  was  happening 
on  the  coast  or  in  the  northern  capital,  but  one’s  long  re- 
sidence in  West  China  has  convinced  one  that  what  happens 
on  the  coast  is  soon  known  in  the  remotest  districts  far  from 
the  telegraph.  \^Tien  China  was  fighting  her  disastrous  war 
with  Japan,  in  1894,  telegrams  coming  via  Mengtse,  the  open 
port  in  South  Yunnan,  to  the  little  town  where  I was  then 
living,  reported  Chinese  victories  over  their  foes.  These 
were  evidently  official  reports  sent  out  for  the  calming  of  the 
people,  and  the  enhancing  of  the  prestige  of  those  in  power. 
The  people  on  the  streets,  however,  had  other  news,  and  it 
was  quite  the  opposite  of  the  telegrams.  The  man  on  the 
street,  two  thousand  miles  from  the  scene  of  conflict,  knew 
of  the  overwhelming  disasters  which  had  overtaken  the 
troops  of  his  country. 

It  was  known,  long  before  I attempted  to  cross  the  Yangtse 
and  get  into  Nosuland,  that  the  English  missionary  was 
contemplating  this  little  adventure.  Tlie  military  official 
residing  at  Mi-tieh,  who  had  charge  of  the  Yangtse  defences, 
heard  of  the  proposed  attempt  and  determined  to  stop  it 
if  possible.  If  he  could  not  stop  it  he  was  determined  that 
success  on  the  traveller’s  part  should  be  purchased  at  a 
terrible  cost.  The  plans  which  years  ago  had  succeeded  so 
well  with  Margary  were  to  be  imitated  with  the  Englishman 
who  was  going  to  try  to  lift  the  veil  from  independent  Nosu- 
land. 

A messenger  was  sent  beforehand  to  some  of  the  chiefs, 
blackening  the  character  of  the  Englishman  and  advising 
them  to  murder  him  should  he  succeed  in  reaching  the  interior 
of  their  land.  Had  this  project  been  carried  out  the  Chinese 
officials  would  at  once  have  disclaimed  all  responsibility,  and 


THE  GIRL  WITH  THE  CORAL  BEADS  21 


would  have  contended  that  1 had  justly  met  my  death,  as 
a consequence  of  my  rash  adventure  into  the  land  of  the 
hillmcn,  where  the  Chinese  Imperial  writ  did  not  rim,  and 
where  mandarins  and  their  soldiers  were  rarely,  if  ever,  seen. 
Tlie  plans  of  the  “ Defender  of  the  Yangtsc  ” were  all  so 
simple  and  apparently  bound  to  succeed.  The  chief  who  was 
chosen  to  carry  out  the  deed  was  named  Vri*ha,  and  he  came 
to  meet  us  the  first  day  we  travelled  in  the  land.  We  were 
warned  on  the  way,  before  we  met  him,  but  determined  to 
push  on  and  take  the  risk.  Possibly  the  Nosu  chief  might 
refuse  to  carry  out  the  well-concoeted  and  wilily-safe  plans 
of  the  Chinese  official,  for  these  chiefs  have  no  very  great 
confidence  in  any  Chinese.  Our  surmise  turned  out  to  be 
correct,  and  the  only  killing  that  \'ri-ha  did  on  our  arrival 
was  that  of  a fat  goat  for  the  entertainment  of  the  guests 
who  stayed  under  the  roof  of  one  of  his  country  houses. 
The  Nosu  have  a reputation  for  quickly  changing  their 
plans.  One  of  the  two  men  squatting  on  the  floor  earnestly 
discussing  the  marriage  of  the  Englislmian  to  the  girl  with 
the  long  pipe  and  coral  car-rings  was  Vri-ha.  The  potential 
murderer  wished  to  become  a relative  by  marriage,  and  had 
I scorned  his  proposal  or  treated  it  with  contempt,  my  new 
friend  might  have  become  my  enemy,  and  gone  back  to  the 
plans  of  the  wily  defender  of  the  Yangtse. 

I was  not  anxious  for  such  an  outcome  as  that  to  my  ad- 
ventme.  There  was,  however,  no  possibility  of  niy  accepting 
the  proposal.  I had  already  married  one  of  the  prettiest 
Englishwomen  in  the  whole  of  China,  and  was  not  at  all 
smitten  with  the  idea  of  marrying  an  Asiatic,  even  though 
the  advantages  accruing  from  such  a miion  might  turn  out 
,to  be  very  great.  To  be  made  chief  of  several  of  the  hardy 


22  THE  GIRL  WITH  THE  CORAL  BEADS 

Nosu  tribes  who  have  hitherto  defied  all  the  efforts  of  the 
Chinese  to  subdue  them  might  open  a romantic  career  to  an 
adventurous  West  of  England  man  who  remembered  how 
in  the  great  sixteenth  century  his  fellow-countrymen  roamed 
all  over  the  world,  did  great  deeds,  and  laid  the  foundations 
of  wide  dominions.  This,  however,  was  the  twentieth 
century,  and  not  the  sixteenth,  and  missionaries  are  not 
usually  supposed  to  be  given  to  filibustering  or  setting  up  as 
rulers  of  states,  though  romantic,  restless,  hot  blood  does  flow 
in  the  veins  of  some  of  us.  The  man  who  imagines  that  a 
missionary  has  said  good-bye  to  all  romance,  and  is  engaged 
in  a tame,  tasteless  life’s  Avork,  does  not  know  the  stories  which 
some  of  the  men  in  West  China  could  tell. 

I\ly  guide  assured  me  that  Vri-ha  was  in  dead  earnest, 
and  that  the  coral-bead  girl  was  willing  also,  and  although  he 
knew  that  a wife  and  three  boys  were  waiting  in  my  home  a 
few  days’  journey  away  he  would  have  been  pleased  if  I had 
agreed  to  set  up  another  matrimonial  establishment  in 
Nosuland.  He  himself  had  three  wives  and  three  separate 
establishments,  and  apparently  saw  no  reason  why  I should 
not  follow  his  example. 

When  night  came  on  the  hillmcn  from  the  neighbourhood 
gathered  together  to  see  the  stranger  and  to  discuss  the 
meaning  of  his  coming.  The  low-roofed  house  was  well 
filled  and  the  magic  lantern  I had  brought  with  me  was 
shown  to  a wondering  audience.  My  guide  did  all  the  ex- 
plaining of  the  pictures,  and  the  wonderment  the  people 
showed  was  very  marked  indeed.  I stood  at  the  back, 
operating  the  lantern,  and  by-and-by  the  coral-bead  girl 
with  the  long  pipe  joined  me.  What  a shiver  went  down 
my  back ! And  what  a pity  we  could  nut  talk  to  each  other  1 


THE  GIRL  WITH  THE  CORAL  BEADS  23 


The  back  of  a magic  lantern  in  a dark  room  is  an  admirable 
place  for  confidences.  The  girl  was  deeply  interested  in  the 
English  suit  I was  wearing.  It  was  so  unlike  anything  she 
had  ever  seen  before,  and  possibly  she  thought  that  the 
possession  of  such  a suit  in  her  family  would  give  her  a 
position  of  great  prominence  among  the  leading  ladies  of 
Nosuland.  She  carefidly  examined  my  jacket  and  waist- 
coat and  collar  and  necktie,  and  I had  to  submit  as  courteously 
as  possible.  I remembered  Vri-ha,  and  the  defender  of  the 
Yangtse,  and  was  anxious  to  let  the  little  girl  down  as  gently 
as  I could.  Whatever  happened  there  must  be  no  row,  and 
when  I left  their  hills  I wished  to  be  remembered  as  a friend 
who  would  like  to  be  welcomed  on  a second  visit. 

To  the  Chinese  of  Western  China  independent  Nosuland 
is  the  great  bogey  land.  Here  dwell  the  wildmcn,  and  legend 
has  peopled  those  great  hills  with  men  who  are  hardly  natural, 
and  capable  of  doing  all  kinds  of  evdl  deeds.  But  to  me  the 
bogey  land  of  the  Western  Chinese  was  like  a fairyland  I 
had  long  wished  to  explore.  It  did  indeed  seem  as  if  the 
people  were  determined  that  it  should  be  fairyland  and  looked 
upon  the  Englishman  as  a Prince  Charming  who  was  to  marry 
the  yomig  daughter  of  one  of  their  great  chiefs.  It  was, 
however,  a very  poor  Prince  Channing  I was  prepared  to  be. 
I felt  far  more  like  stupid  old  Bottom  in  A Midsummer- 
Night's  Dream  when  Titania  made  such  love  to  him. 

It  was  winter-time  and  the  snow  was  on  the  gromid. 
Icicles  were  hanging  down  fiom  the  front  of  the  house,  and 
all  outside  was  bitterly  cold.  In  the  morning  when  I went 
outside  for  a stroll  I saw  two  men  sitting  on  the  ground,  each 
covered  with  his  long  black  felt  cape.  Tliey  were  engaged 
in  earnest  conversation.  As  I approached  they  tmmed  and 


24  THE  GIRL  WITH  THE  CORAL  BEADS 


saw  me.  One  was  Vri-ha  and  the  other  was  my  guide  chief. 
The  topic  of  conversation  was  again  that  of  the  Englishman 
and  the  girl  with  the  long  pipe  and  the  coral  beads.  Here 
indeed  was  a dilemma  for  one  to  be  faced  with.  The  journey 
of  adventure  looked  as  if  it  were  going  to  end  in  being  a 
journey  of  disaster. 

Talking  to  my  guide,  I asked  him  whether  these  hillmen 
would  be  willing  to  marry  one  of  their  daughters  to  a China- 
man. The  answer  came  with  a flash.  “ We  would  sooner 
marry  her  to  a dog  than  to  a Chinaman.”  The  chief  ex- 
plained that  this  proposal  of  theirs  was  the  highest  honour 
they  could  possibly  show  to  their  guest,  and  he  hoped 
that  I would  treat  it  as  such  and  show  my  respect  by 
agreeing  to  it. 

I think  I was  hot  enough  to  thaw  all  the  icicles  hanging 
down  from  the  roof  of  the  house.  After  all,  my  fairyland 
seemed  to  be  perversely  turning  into  bogey  land  and  I 
wondered  how  it  would  all  end. 


CHAPTER  II 


THE  YANGTSE  IN  ITS  REAL  HOME 

Those  who  have  only  seen  the  River  Yangtsc  in  its 
lower  reaehes,  with  warships  and  oecan  steamers 
riding  on  its  muddy  waters,  searcely  ever  dream  of 
what  the  river  is  like  in  the  Far  West,  two  thousand  five 
hundred  miles  away  from  the  oeean,  where  there  is  no  trace 
of  commercial  bustle  and  where  traffic  is  entirely  absent. 

The  Yangtse,  Ocean  Son  as  its  name  means,  from  near 
Shanghai,  where  it  mixes  its  waters  with  the  China  Sea,  to 
Hankow,  where  it  washes  the  suburbs  of  the  three  cities 
which  make  that  point  the  most  important  in  all  interior 
China,  is  well  knoivn  to  Orient  travellers.  Back  in  the  last 
century,  in  the  halcyon  days  of  the  China  tea  trade,  it  was 
here  where  many  of  the  famous  clippers,  after  shipping  a full 
cargo  of  the  much-prized  leaf,  started  on  their  race  to  London, 
making  time  which  does  not  seem  very  slow  even  in  these 
days  of  great  ocean  liners.  So  heavy  is  the  traffic  on  this 
part  of  the  Yangtse  that  it  seems  almost  like  an  international 
waterway  used  by  the  mercantile  navies  of  all  the  continents. 
From  Hankow  up  to  Ichang,  merchant  steamers  and  shallow- 
draught  gunboats  are  constantly  travelling  up  and  down,  and 
those  who  have  visited  Ichang  imagine  they  have  seen  the 
upper  reaches  of  the  great  river.  It  is  a great  but  somewhat 
tame  river  which  shows  itself  to  such  travellers.  He  who 
w’ould  learn  the  secrets  and  find  out  the  history  of  the  mighty 
waterway  must  force  his  way  farther  and  farther  inland,  and 

25 


26  THE  YANGTSE  IN  ITS  REAL  HOME 


those  who  go  farthest  see  and  learn  most.  The  lower  reaches 
which  come  into  touch  with  Western  civilisation  are  but 
the  outside  doors  of  the  great  river,  where  ceremonial  dress 
is  put  on  for  the  reception  of  visitors.  Those  who  have  been 
into  a Chinese  mandarin’s  home  have  first  gone  through  the 
outer  gates,  which  are  open  to  all  and  sundry,  and  then  on 
through  the  big  doors,  on  which  are  painted  the  immense 
door  gods.  These  doors  are  opened  for  special  guests  and 
on  special  occasions.  A little  farther  on,  one  comes  to  the 
guest  hall,  where  are  hung  the  long,  graceful  scrolls  and  where 
are  the  beautiful  vases  and  lovely  flowers.  Seated  in  this 
hall  one  finds  the  mandarin  wonderfully  and  charmingly 
polite,  and  he  often  gives  the  visitor  a great  time.  At  the 
end  of  an  hour  one  leaves,  feeling  that  he  knows  much  about 
the  inside  of  a mandarin’s  home.  The  truth,  however,  is, 
that  he  has  only  seen  the  outside  and  knows  nothing  at  all 
about  the  real  inner  home,  where  live  all  the  tragedy  and 
intrigue  and  celestial  comedy.  On  one  occasion  when 
visiting  a mandarin’s  residence  we  were  kept  waiting  for  some 
time,  and  found  out  afterwards  that  the  cause  of  the  delay 
was  that  two  prisoners  might  be  taken  out  and  executed 
before  the  mandarin  came  in  and  extended  a most  courteous 
and  friendly  welcome  to  his  visitors  from  the  West. 

As  with  the  mandarin’s  residence,  so  with  the  mighty 
Yangtsc.  Near  Shanghai  its  great  outer  doors  are  con- 
temiituously  or  carelessly  left  open  to  everybody.  Farther 
inland  its  mile- wide  gates  at  Hankow  arc  open  only  to  those 
ships  which  conform  to  certain  patterns  and  regulations. 
Ninety-five  per  cent,  of  the  steamers  never  pass  through  these 
doors,  and  the  few  that  do  jmss  and  reach  the  Yangtsc ’s  guest 
hall  at  Ichaiig  feel  that  they  have  cxjilorcd  the  secrets  of  the 


THE  YANGTSE  IN  ITS  HEAL  IIO:\IE  27 


Ocean  Son,  whereas  they  have  only  just  touched  the  fringe 
of  the  great  river’s  history.  They  know  its  company  manners, 
they  know’  the  dress  of  ceremonial  it  puts  on  for  guests  from 
across  the  water,  but  the  Yangtse  at  home  they  have  never 
seen.  All  the  love  and  tragedy  and  intrigue  and  comedy  arc 
hidden  away  beyond  Ichang,  and  the  traveller  that  ventures 
farther  gets  a sudden  rude  awakening.  On  the  lower  reaches 
one  can  hoist  the  sails  of  his  house-boat,  and  tack  up  and 
dow'n,  cast  and  west,  north  and  south,  and  feel  as  if  he  were 
on  a wider  Thames  or  long-drawn-out  Mersey.  In  the  w'arm 
days  of  early  summer  one  can  live  the  dolce  far  niente  exist- 
ence, careless  of  everything  except  a passing  steamer  with 
its  crowded  decks  or  an  ugly  warship  of  one  of  the  great 
Powers  on  some  diplomatic  mission  that  puzzles  the  Chinese. 

Beyond  Ichang  the  house-boat  soon  gets  into  rougher 
waters,  w'here  tacking  is  impossible  and  w’here  every  minute 
almost  brings  its  threatening  danger.  One  finds  out  at  once 
that  the  Yangtse  in  its  iimer  home  roars  and  foams  and  rages 
and  tears,  and  takes  frequent  toll  from  those  who  wish  to 
find  out  its  hidden  secrets. 

Now  for  a whole  month’s  journey  the  river  keeps  itself 
almost  exclusively  for  those  who  live  near  its  banks  or  make 
their  home  on  its  waters,  and  a jolly  lively  river  it  is.  Nearly 
all  the  up-river  boats  fight  their  way  up  inch  by  inch,  tugged 
along  by  hardy  boatmen  who  know  every  foot  of  the  way 
and  sing  songs  in  its  praise  as  they  pull  their  freight  up  against 
the  stiff  waters.  Every  now  and  again  the  river  throws  out 
a bold  challenge,  and,  in  the  shape  of  a tierce  rapid,  shows  its 
terrible  teeth  and  dares  anyone  to  proceed  farther.  The 
boatmen  accept  the  challenge,  and  then  comes  a great  fight. 
He  who  has  looked  on  at  one  of  these  fights  never  forgets  the 


28  THE  YANGTSE  IN  ITS  REAL  HOME 


great  struggle.  If  he  happens  to  have  joined  in  and  to  have 
been  worsted  in  the  fight  and  to  have  only  just  escaped  with 
broken  boat  and  damaged  goods,  he  will  never  think  lightly 
of  the  great  river  again.  If,  like  some  of  us,  he  has  been 
wrecked  and  tossed  into  the  raging  waters  of  the  wild  rajiids 
and  only  just  escaped  with  his  life,  he  will  never  forget  the 
weird,  hissing,  triumphant  song  the  angry,  boisterous  waves 
sang  in  his  cars  as  he  battled  for  life  against  a merciless 
enemy.  And  when,  years  after,  far  inland  and  away  from 
the  great  Yangtse,  he  wakes  at  night  and  hears  the  rain 
beating  on  the  roof  and  the  hill  torrent  roaring  in  the  gullies, 
he  will  hear  once  more  that  weird,  hissing  song  and  feel  the 
quiver  of  the  wings  of  that  angry,  merciless  river  demon. 
Ugh  ! it  is  nearly  thirty  years  since  he  shook  and  tossed  and 
bit  me  and  I can  feel  him  even  now.  Tlie  merciless  brute ! 
The  roar  of  the  river  will  ring  in  the  ears  of  some  of  us  till  the 
day  of  the  crossing  of  the  great  last  river. 

Constant  practice  and  years  of  negotiation  have  made  the 
boatmen  almost  careless  of  the  great  rapids,  and  what  at  first 
looks  like  fierce  grinning  teeth  seems  but  a big  explosion  of 
laughter  to  those  who  have  often  pulled  their  way  through 
the  dashing  waters  to  the  calm  reaches  above,  where,  if  the 
breezes  arc  favourable,  the  big  white  sail  will  sweep  the  boat 
along  and  give  all  the  hard-working  crew  a much-enjoyed 
rest.  Those  who  turn  coward  at  the  raging,  angry  rapids 
know  nothing  of  the  smooth  waters  beyond. 

When,  at  the  end  of  a hard  month’s  journey  against  the 
stream,  the  house-boat  reaches  the  great  trading  port  of 
Chungking,  which  is  built  on  the  face  of  a huge  rock,  one  may 
imagine  that  now  he  knows  the  Yangtse  and  has  seen  the  great 
river  in  all  its  moods.  But  the  secret  still  lies  in  the  distant 


THE  YANGTSE  IN  ITS  REAL  HOME  29 

beyond.  Away  back  and  back  lies  the  real  Yangtsc.  Up 
till  now  one  has  only  seen  a huge  water  road,  travelled  over  by 
myriads  of  trading  junks,  many  merchant  steamers  and  a few 
ugly  war  vessels.  At  Chungking  one  finds  very  little  evidence 
of  steamboats.  WTiat  evidence  there  is  to  those  w'ho  know 
speaks  eloquently  of  two  men  who  rank  among  the  great 
pioneers  of  Western  civilisation  in  inland  China.  One  of 
these  men.  Captain  Plant,  is  still  working  hard  and  success- 
fully at  the  |)roblcm  of  the  steam  navigation  of  the  Upper 
Yangtsc,  the  other,  Mr  Archibald  Little,  died  a few  years  ago, 
after  a strenuous  life  spent  in  working  in  and  for  China. 
He  was  the  great  pioneer  of  the  steam  navigation  of  the 
Upper  Yangtse,  and  was  the  first  to  bring  a small  steamer 
right  up  to  the  walls  of  Chungking.  Some  of  us  remember 
gratefully  that  we  knew  this  brave,  kind,  great  man  who  so 
unselfishly  worked  to  bring  China  and  the  West  together  as 
friends  and  not  enemies. 

But  leave  Chungking  alone.  Forget  those  little,  almost 
impudent  gunboats  which  hold  up  the  flags  of  several  nations 
before  the  gaze  of  the  busy  farmers  and  traders  of  the  richest 
province  of  all  China,  and  one  of  the  finest  countries  in  the 
whole  world.  Do  not  fancy  you  hav^e  yet  seen  the  real 
Yangtse.  Press  on  still  farther.  The  greatest  mysteries  of 
all  lie  towards  the  sunset,  and  he  who  would  speak  to  the 
heart  of  the  mighty  river  must  diligently  resist  the  tempta- 
tion to  stop,  and  keep  on  crying : Westward  Ho ! The  house- 
boats and  junks  push  their  way  up  river  for  a few  weeks  more, 
and  in  the  summer-time,  when  the  waters  are  swollen  high, 
the  perky  little  gimboats  fly  their  flags  a few  hundred  miles 
farther  west,  and  give  the  natives  the  opportunity  of  thinking 
that  the  vaunted  navies  of  England  and  Germany  are  com- 


3)  THE  YANGTSE  IN  ITS  REAL  HOME 


posed  of  little  boats  half  the  size  of  some  of  their  huge  salt 
junks  and  drawing  only  three  or  four  feet  of  water.  No 
wonder  they  are  never  much  impressed  in  these  inland 
provinces  with  the  naval  power  of  the  great  Western  nations. 

Now  you  must  go  slowly,  for  you  are  approaching  the  real 
home  of  the  great  river,  and  are  getting  near  the  heart,  where 
the  secrets  are  kept  closely  hidden  from  all  but  the  closest 
friends  and  the  mighty  hills  and  the  eternal  skies. 

Away  up,  two  days  beyond  the  farthest  point,  where  the 
most  daiing  and  skilfully  navigated  of  these  little  Western 
gunboats  have  been,  twenty  miles  west  of  the  little  town  of 
Fukwan,  which  from  its  home  in  the  province  of  Yunnan  faces 
the  big  sister  province  of  Szechuan,  an  enormous  rapid,  the 
Oxhide  Rapid,  stops  all  junk  traffic,  and  the  merry  songs  of 
the  hard-working  boatmen  stop  here.  Reaching  this  place 
is  almost  like  reaching  the  death  point  of  a mighty  industry. 
A few  small  boats  manage  to  crawl  on  five  miles  farther  to 
Mao  Shui  Kong — the  Hole  where  the  Water  rushes  out — but 
this  represents  the  last  feeble  efforts  of  the  great  boat  traffic 
to  conquer  the  waters  of  the  mighty  river.  Beyond  this  the 
Yangtse  is  supreme  in  its  own  home,  and  has  time  to  tell 
its  own  story  and  reveal  its  hidden  secrets.  He  who  has 
never  seen  the  river  except  where  it  is  the  busy  highway  of 
an  ever-increasing  commerce  knows  no  more  of  its  real  life 
and  beauty  than  does  the  tourist  who  motors  along  at  forty 
miles  an  hour  know  of  the  life  of  the  country-side  on  either 
side  of  his  long  trail  of  dust.  He  only  heam  the  silent  song 
of  mountain  and  lake  who  goes  slowly,  rests  frequently  and 
knows  how  to  keej)  very  still.  The  song  of  China’s  wonderful 
mighty  river  is  only  heard  when  one  has  got  right  away  from 
busy  commerce  and  noisy  marts  and  ships  that  spit  out  black 


THE  YANGTSE  IN  ITS  REAL  HOME  31 

smoke  and  cast  hot  ashes  into  the  bosom  of  the  cool 
waters. 

Thus  far  it  has  been  a long,  tedious  journey,  but  the  traveller 
is  now  well  repaid  for  his  months  of  toil.  Here  is  the  Yangtse 
in  its  o^m  glory,  the  great  river  in  its  native  element,  the 
River  of  the  Golden  Sand.  The  people  who  now  look  on 
its  waters  are  not  those  who,  travelling  on  junks  from  one 
province  to  another,  are  anxious  most  of  all  to  leave  as  long  a 
stretch  of  waters  behind  them  as  possible,  but  those  whose 
first  sleeps  were  coaxed  by  the  songs  of  the  stream  that  a few 
days  before  was  gliding  along  on  the  roof  of  the  world  away 
up  among  the  eternal  snows,  where  the  sun  and  the  snow  are 
such  friends  that  they  can  for  ever  live  in  peace  together. 

Just  near  where  the  junk  traffic  finally  ceases  a rock  juts 
out  into  one  of  the  dangerous  rapids.  A lot  of  splendid  fish 
are  caught  at  this  point,  and  the  men  who  live  in  the  vicinity 
know  the  advantages  of  the  place  for  fishing.  There  is  not 
room,  however,  for  more  than  one  fisher  at  a time,  and  if  he 
has  a struggle  with  a twenty-pounder,  which  he  not  infre- 
quently has,  he  is  liable  to  follow  the  fish  into  its  rough 
elements,  thus  causing  a complete  turn  of  the  tables.  To 
prevent  such  a calamity  the  fisher  is  tied  by  a rope  to  the  shore, 
and  near  by  the  anchorage  a stick  of  incense  is  constantly 
burning.  This  is  not  in  honour  of  Wang-ye,  the  great  river 
god  of  West  China,  but  is  the  fisherman’s  time  mark.  Each 
man  can  stay  on  the  point  as  long  as  one  stick  of  incense 
burns.  WTien  it  has  burnt  away  a fresh  fisherman  tries 
his  luck,  while  a new  stick  of  incense  is  gradually  being 
consumed. 

There  being  no  up-river  boats  now  the  traveller  has  to 
follow  the  Yangtse  by  means  of  the  narrow^  paths  on  its  banks. 


32  THE  YANGTSE  IN  ITS  REAL  HOME 


Sometimes  the  road  lies  on  the  right  bank  and  sometimes  on 
the  left.  Every  now  and  again  there  are  ferry  boats  which 
cross  the  stream,  and  in  a few  places  where  there  are  some 
miles  of  fairly  smooth  waters  small  boats  ply  up  and  do^vn, 
carrying  coolies  and  travellers  at  a very  reasonable  rate. 
Many  years  ago  one  of  the  great  roads  of  West  China  followed 
up  the  banks  of  the  river  to  a point  west  of  the  city  of 
Chaotung,  which  is  the  principal  city  in  the  north  of  the 
province  of  Yunnan.  In  those  days  some  of  the  worst  of  the 
rapids  had  not  yet  been  formed,  and  the  Government  convoys 
of  copper,  product  of  the  many  rich  mines  of  Yunnan  and 
intended  for  the  use  of  the  Central  Government  in  Peking, 
were  all  sent  this  way.  Trade  was  better  in  those  days  than 
it  is  now.  After  the  formation  of  several  dangerous  rapids 
the  Government  copper  was  no  longer  sent  to  the  upper 
reaches  of  the  river  but  was  carried  to  the  Yangtse  via  the 
busy  customs  station  at  Lao-ya-tan,  and  the  River  Hen, 
which  as  a tributary  joins  the  main  river  twenty  miles  west 
of  the  busytown  of  Suifu.  When  the  copper  traffic  took 
this  new  direction  the  old  roads  fell  into  disuse  and  some  of 
them  are  now  quite  dangerous  to  travel  over. 

On  one  occasion  after  we  had  passed  over  some  moorland 
which  reminded  one  vividly  of  the  Dartmoor  of  Devonshire, 
we  came  to  a cliff  around  which  the  road  went.  As  we  were 
passing  along  right  by  the  centre  of  the  cliff  the  men  with 
us  called  our  attention  to  the  fact  that  we  were  on  the  “ Fairy 
Bridge.”  Looking  down  beneath  us,  we  noticed  that  under 
our  feet  we  could  see  the  sheer  cliff  going  right  down  to  the 
bed  of  the  river.  Some  supj)orts  had  been  driven  into  the 
cliff,  and  the  road  was  very  roughly  built  over  these  supports. 
How  long  these  will  hold  up  the  roadway  in  a land  where  the 


Maizk  Si'ACKEi)  IN  Trees  to  Preserve  it  erom  Damp  and  Spraying  Cai  ple 


Shoeing  a Horse  in  the  Bed  of  a River 


5T  r' 


S'  s 


THE  YANGTSE  IN  ITS  REAL  HOME  33 


works  of  the  great  Chinese  roadmakers  of  dynasties  that  have 
passed  and  gone  have  fallen  into  terrible  decay  one  does  not 
know.  One  was  glad  to  leave  Fairy  Bridge  behind  and 
to  reach  firmer  if  not  so  romantic  ground.  The  Chinese 
who  were  travelling  with  us  said  that  the  road  bridge  could 
never  have  been  built  there  by  mortals.  Only  the  good 
fairies  could  have  completed  such  an  engineering  feat,  and 
hence  the  name  of  the  bridge.  Not  long  after  passing  Fairy 
Bridge  we  came  to  Little  Danger  and  Great  Danger,  names 
given  to  two  very  risky  pieces  of  road  which  we  had  to  jiass 
over.  Both  were  built  in  the  side  of  a cliff,  and  consisted  of 
narrow  steps,  with  no  outside  railings  or  support.  A slip  or 
a puff  of  stormy  wind  and  the  unwary  traveller  is  over  and 
into  the  merciless  waters  of  the  great  river. 

One  missed  the  boats  and  the  cheery  song  of  the  toiling 
boatmen.  Except  for  the  roar  of  the  waters,  all  was  as  quiet 
as  an  ordinary  country-side.  The  river  had  all  the  song  to 
itself,  and  now  and  again  it  was  full  band  and  chorus.  Passing 
by  one  of  the  many  Shin  Tans  (New  Rapids)  which  the  river 
possesses,  one  had  to  stand  and  marvel  at  the  great  waters 
beating  against  the  rocks  in  midstream.  The  white  horses 
and  the  lovely  foam  crested  the  huge  waves  as  I have  often 
seen  them  crest  the  waves  which  have  dashed  against  Cape 
Cornwall  near  Land’s  End ; and  beyond  the  roaring  breakers 
the  treacherous  whirlpools,  which  twist  and  turn  as  if  moving 
in  harmony  with  the  maddest  of  giant  dancers.  One  can 
never  imagine  boats  trying  to  negotiate  those  waters.  And 
yet  there  are  men  who  have  gone  down  over  these  wild  billows 
and  have  lived  to  tell  their  thrilling  experience. 

In  many  places  along  by  the  river-side  building  wood  is 
very  difficult  to  procure.  Farther  up  river,  however,  forest 
c 


34  THE  YANGTSE  IN  ITS  REAL  HOME 


land  is  more  plentiful,  and  planks  and  beams  are  cheap. 
These  planks  and  beams  are  bound  together  into  strong  rafts, 
and  an  attempt  is  made  to  take  them  down  over  the  dan- 
gerous rapids  to  the  profitable  markets  lower  down  river.  A 
Chinaman  will  risk  almost  anything  for  money,  and  there  are 
some  who  now  and  again  face  these  wild  waters  of  the  Upper 
Yangtse. 

The  raft  is  allowed  to  drift  most  of  the  way,  the  adventurous 
travellers  doing  nothing  to  assist  it  along.  Here  and  there 
iron  rings  are  driven  into  the  planks,  and  when  nearing  the 
dangerous  parts  the  men  lie  down,  thrust  their  arms  thi’ough 
the  rings,  and  in  this  position  go  right  through  the  waters 
overwhelmed  by  the  great  billows  again  and  again.  The 
greatest  danger  feared  by  the  raft  travellers  is  when  the  raft 
approaches  a cliff,  and  instead  of  being  swept  on  by  the  sway- 
ing waters  the  head  of  it  is  sucked  under  and  the  stern  of  the 
raft  is  thrown  up  against  the  cliff.  When  this  happens  the 
men  on  the  raft  are  spoken  of  as  being  stuck  on  the  cliff  like 
scrolls  are  pasted  on  the  door-posts  at  the  New  Year  time. 
The  danger  of  becoming  a New  Year’s  scroll  is  the  danger 
most  dreaded  by  these  hazardous  voyagers. 

On  and  on  one  goes  up  the  river  bank,  every  now  and  again 
forgetting  the  Yangtse  in  the  beauty  of  the  oil-tree  orchards 
by  the  water-side.  It  was  autumn  when  I first  went  that 
way,  and  wending  our  way  among  the  oil-trees  was  like  passing 
through  some  of  the  beautiful  old  orchards  of  Somersetshire. 
The  western  sun  shone  through  the  green,  yellow  and  bright 
red  leaves  of  the  oil  and  mulberry  trees,  and  the  effect  was 
enchanting.  It  was  like  being  in  fairyland,  and  not  far  away 
the  waters  sang  their  songs  as  gently  as  moved  the  shimmering 
aulumn  leaves  of  the  orchard  trees. 


TiiE  yangtsp:  in  its  rExVL  home  35 


So  the  days  passed  by,  and  slowly  we  made  our  w'ay  up  the 
valley  of  the  Yangtse  at  about  twenty  miles  a day.  The 
last  ride  we  had  on  its  waters  was  one  of  seven  miles,  to  a 
little  town  on  the  southern  bank  named  Rim  of  the  Iron  Pan, 
so  named  from  a great  rapid  close  by,  which  to  a Chinaman 
looks  like  a gigantic  cooking-pan.  The  boatman  charged 
us  thirty-six  cash  each  person,  about  a halfpenny,  and  there 
were  forty  of  us  on  the  small  boat.  Tlie  boatman  told  us 
that  before  he  could  make  any  money  for  himself  he  had  to 
pay  two  hundred  thousand  cash  a year  to  the  small  official 
who  had  the  monopoly  of  the  traffic. 

After  this  our  journey  lay  on  the  south  bank  of  the  river. 
Climbing  up  some  great  moorlands  to  escape  a long  bend  in 
the  river,  we  saw  a new  striking  feature  in  the  landscape  which 
aroused  our  keenest  interest. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  river  we  noticed  a great  white  cliff, 
and  were  told  that  it  was  a cliff  of  gypsum,  great  quantities 
of  which  are  mined  and  sold  all  over  the  neighbouring  district. 
The  principal  use  it  is  put  to  is  to  curdle  a white  cream  made 
by  grinding  soy  beans  with  water  in  the  little  hand-mills 
which  every  Chinese  country  home  in  West  China  possesses. 
The  gypsum  acts  like  rennet,  and  when  the  soy  bean  cream 
is  being  boiled  the  whey  is  soon  separated  from  the  curd, 
and  in  this  way  is  produced  the  “ teofu,”  whieh  is  one  of  the 
most  sustaining  foods  the  Chinese  eat,  and  which  largely 
makes  up  for  their  lack  of  meat  diet.  Above  the  gypsum 
cliff  stretched  out  a well-cultivated  upland,  and  above  that 
still  another.  The  sun  was  shining  beautifully,  and  we  looked 
long  at  these  uplands,  deeply  interested  in  the  new  feature  we 
saw  there.  Here  and  there  were  high  white  towers  shining 
clearly  in  the  smishine  and  making  a striking  contrast  to  the 


36  THE  YANGTSE  IN  ITS  REAL  HO]\IE 

dull  khaki  earth-coloured  houses  all  about.  We  counted 
thirty-six  of  these  towers  on  the  two  uplands,  and  later  on, 
in  the  southern  side,  we  counted  sixty-four  more  such  towers. 
When  we  counted  the  sixty-four  the  weather  was  not  very 
clear.  Had  the  sun  been  shining  we  could  have  seen  a 
hundred.  What  is  the  meaning  of  all  these  white  blockhouse 
towers  ? 


CHAPTER  III 


THE  SECRET  OF  THE  WHITE  TOWERS 
HE  white  towers  dotted  all  over  the  country-side 


mean  danger.  The  district  is  a borderland  district. 


and  there  is  the  constant  fear  of  sudden  raids,  with 
their  attendant  burnings  and  murders  and  captures  for 
slavery.  If  you  ask  the  owners  of  these  towers  why  they 
have  built  them  they  will  invariably  answer:  “Fear  of  the 
Mantsz.”  The  dread  of  the  Mantsz  exists  all  over  the  country- 
side, and  extends  into  three  provinces.  Tlie  word  “ Mantsz  ” 
means  wildmen,  and  one  wonders  at  once  who  these  wild- 
men  are,  who  can  so  terrorise  an  enormous  district  and  in- 
cidentally alter  the  architectural  appearance  of  great  parts 
of  three  provinces.  You  ask  again  where  is  the  home  of  these 
wildmen,  and  with  protruding  chin  or  pointing  finger  your 
informant  directs  you  to  the  hills  north  of  the  Yangtse, 
right  opposite  to  where  you  are  standing  and  asking  the 
question. 

The  hills  on  that  side  of  the  great  river  look  very  similar 
to  the  hills  on  this  side.  The  geological  formation  is  pre- 
cisely the  same.  WTiy  should  there  be  wildmen  on  one  side 
of  the  river  and  civilised  Chinese  on  the  other  ? 

If  you  understand  the  language  spoken  by  the  people  you 
can  easily  get  the  owners  of  the  white  towers  to  talk  by  the 
hour  about  the  Mantsz,  and  blood-curdling  are  many  of  the 
stories.  For  generations  and  even  centuries  there  has  been 
constant  warfare  between  the  wildmen  among  the  hills  north 


37 


38  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  WHITE  TO^^T:RS 

of  the  Yangtse  and  the  Chinese  who  have  settled  near  the 
home  of  these  hardy  raiders. 

Here  one  comes  right  up  against  one  of  the  most  interesting 
secrets  of  interior  China.  Right  in  the  heart  of  the  land 
governed  from  Peking,  by  means  of  the  provincial  officials,  is 
a large  tract  of  country  as  big  as  some  of  the  European  states, 
where  dwells  a race  of  people  practically  independent.  In  the 
land  of  this  race  the  Chinaman  takes  a very  secondary  place, 
and  while  in  his  own  district  and  in  the  company  of  people 
who  share  his  views  he  may  express  supreme  contempt  for 
these  hillmen,  calling  them  Mantsz  and  Lolo,  terms  which  are 
abomination  to  the  men  referred  to,  if  he  enters  the  district 
where  these  despised  people  live  he  behaves  himself  admir- 
ably and  uses  far  more  respectful  terms  when  addressing  them. 
He  knows  that  the  use  of  the  terms  Mantsz  and  Lolo  to  the 
face  of  these  people  in  their  own  land  would  probably  lead 
to  a great  quarrel,  with  danger  of  fatal  consequences.  I 
have  seen  these  hill  people  flare  up  with  great  anger  at  the 
bare  mention  of  these  much-resented  terms. 

It  is  a great  surprise  to  meet,  right  in  the  heart  of  China, 
a large  district  where  the  people  live  independently,  keep 
their  own  customs,  govern  themselves,  look  on  the  Chinese 
as  an  inferior  race,  and  only  pay  a nominal  tribute  to  the 
Central  Government,  that  from  Peking  rules  over  the  Eighteen 
Provinces. 

The  Chinese  who  enter  this  hill  land  for  trade  or  agriculture 
behave  themselves  far  more  circumspectly  than  they  do  in 
the  foreign  settlements  of  Shanghai  or  Hankow,  or  even  in 
the  British  Crown  Colony  of  Hong-Kong.  In  these  latter 
places  they  still  hold  their  own  as  the  great  race  of  the  East, 
and  while  the  European  now  and  again  treats  the  Chinaman 


THE  SECRET  OF  THE  WHITE  TOWERS  39 


as  a yellow  man,  yet  the  latter  has  made  himself  indispens- 
able and  knows  how  to  become  wealthy  and  powerful.  But 
in  the  land  of  the  Mantsz  the  Chinaman  becomes  humble,  and 
every  now  and  again  is  read  a lesson  in  manners  by  those  who 
really  rule  in  this  independent  land.  Needless  to  say  that 
he  does  not  relish  this,  but  he  pockets  his  pride,  and  keeps  on 
with  his  money-making. 

In  the  presence  of  the  mysterious,  the  Chinese  are  non- 
plussed. Tliey  may  not  be  so  religious  in  character  as  the 
peoples  of  India,  but  they  are  deeply  superstitious  and  afraid 
of  the  unknow  n.  To  them  the  land  w here  the  wildmen  dwell 
is  the  land  of  the  unknowm,  and  they  live  in  constant  dread  of 
it.  Many  are  the  stories  spread  abroad  of  the  mysterious 
land  and  its  people.  The  wizards  who  live  among  the  hill- 
men  are  credited  wdth  supernatural  powers,  and  the  Chinese 
are  abvays  ready  to  give  a wdde  berth  to  anyone  who  can 
tap  the  limitless  powers  of  the  unseen  spirit  world. 

Without  warning,  the  hillmen  wdll  burst  forth  and  make 
a raid  on  the  wealthier  Chinese  villages  and  farmsteads. 
They  come  with  great  swiftness,  strike,  rob,  burn,  take 
captive  without  any  hesitation,  and  in  a very  few  days  are 
back  again  into  their  highland  homes,  safe  from  pursuit. 
Tlie  raiders  cross  the  Yangtse  in  small  boats  at  some  safe 
point,  and  the  boats  are  made  inland,  far  from  the  gaze  of 
the  Chinese  who  live  on  the  south  bank  of  the  river. 

It  is  to  the  benefit  of  the  hillmen  to  keep  up  the  feeling  of 
terror  w'hich  the  Chinese  have  of  them.  Only  in  this  way  can 
they  keep  their  land  safe.  Gold  and  other  precious  metals, 
the  value  of  w’hich  is  well  known  to  the  Chinese,  are  reported  to 
exist  in  large  quantities,  and  it  is  a w'onder  that  long  ago  the 
more  numerous  race  has  not  gone  in  and  subdued  the  people. 


40  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  WHITE  TOWERS 


The  hillman  keeps  up  his  reputation  for  ruthlessness  and 
fierce  savagery  by  these  sudden  and  murderous  raids.  By 
not  making  them  too  frequent,  the  Chinese  officials  have  been 
kept  from  making  really  earnest  attempts  to  conquer,  once 
for  all,  this  almost  independent  country  right  in  the  heart 
of  their  possessions.  After  each  raid  the  mandarins  make 
preparations  for  another  raid,  which  does  not  immediately 
come  off.  In  addition  to  military  preparations,  the  old- 
time  much-used  practice  of  buying  off  an  enemy  is  brought 
into  play.  Subsidies  are  paid  to  the  heads  of  the  wildmen 
to  keep  them  quiet.  Thus  there  is  the  peculiarity  of  these 
hill  tribes  sending  tribute  to  the  Central  Government,  while 
the  officials  representing  that  Government  pay  an  even  larger 
subsidy  or  tribute  to  the  same  people.  In  this  strange  book- 
keeping, the  balance  is  usually  on  the  side  of  the  hillmen. 
After  a while,  however,  the  vigilance  of  the  officials  relaxes, 
and  as  all  seems  quiet  these  representatives  of  the  Govern- 
ment think  there  is  no  necessity  to  pay  all  the  sums  sent 
them  from  headquarters,  and  so  subsidies  become  irregular. 
This  does  not  suit  the  hillmen,  who  know  only  too  well  how 
to  alter  this  state  of  affairs.  Their  action  corresponds  to  the 
mutiny  of  Chinese  soldiers  whose  pay  is  in  arrears.  A new 
raid  takes  place,  and  by  sudden  swift  action  some  unsuspeet- 
ing  inland  village  is  ruthlessly  destroyed  and  some  of  the 
captives  are  in  the  land  of  slavery  before  the  inert,  careless, 
covetous  officials  can  move.  Then  the  old  programme  is 
begun  all  over  again. 

Knowing  that  they  are  never  absolutely  free  from  the  fear 
of  these  disastrous  raids,  the  people  have  taken  steps  for  their 
own  protection.  The  many  limestone  caves  abounding  in 
the  north  of  the  province  of  Yunnan,  arc  kej)t  in  a more  or 


r~ 


A Good  Example  of  the  Whtie  Towers  Built  for  Defen’ce 


THE  SECRET  OF  THE  WHITE  TOWERS  41 


less  fortified  condition.  Ramparts  are  built  on  almost  in- 
accessible heights,  and  more  common  still,  the  \Vhite  towers 
are  ereeted  everywhere.  There  are  thousands  of  these  towers 
in  the  country  which  is  exposed  to  the  raids  of  these  hillmen. 
Some  are  strongly  built  of  cut  stone,  others  are  merely  built 
of  earth,  just  like  the  adobe  buildings  that  used  to  be  so 
common  on  the  farmsteads  of  the  west  of  England.  But 
all  are  admirably  adapted  to  resist  a sudden  raid  by  men 
who  dare  not  stay  long  about  their  nefarious  business.  The 
height  of  the  white  towers  varies  from  forty-five  to  seventy- 
five  feet.  The  base  is  about  twenty  to  twenty-five  feet  square, 
or,  in  a few  cases,  even  more  than  that.  The  walls  are  often 
as  much  as  three  feet  thick.  An  archway  like  a small 
Chinese  city  gate  leads  into  the  tower,  and  this  is  closed  by 
a strong  door,  w’ell  secured  on  the  inside.  The  towers  are 
divided  into  four  or  five  stories,  and  in  times  of  peace  serve 
as  granaries  for  storing  the  produce  of  the  farms.  A large 
supply  of  stones  is  kept  in  the  upper  stories  to  repel  any  who 
would  attempt  to  fire  the  door,  and  so  gain  entrance  that 
way.  Spears,  tridents,  old-fashioned  guns  and  even  modern 
rifles  are  stored  up  in  case  of  attack.  Often  the  tower  is 
built  adjoining  the  living  house,  with  a small  entrance  from 
one  of  the  rooms.  In  case  of  alarm  the  wives  and  daughters, 
with  such  valuables  as  they  can  seize  at  such  short  notice, 
escape  to  the  upper  stories  of  the  tower,  while  the  men  fight 
to  keep  their  home  intact. 

Occasionally  the  tower  and  adjacent  houses  are  surrounded 
by  a strongly  built  wall  with  a moat  outside,  reminding  one 
very  forcibly  of  the  old  baronial  keeps.  The  walls  of  the 
towers  are  often  battlemented  like  Chinese  city  walls. 

The  secret  of  the  white  towers,  then,  is  fear  of  the  tribes- 


42  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  WHITE  TOWERS 


people  who  live  an  almost  independent  existence  among  the 
great  hills  north  of  the  Yangtse.  Nominally  they  owe 
allegiance  to  the  Central  Government  of  China,  but  in  reality 
they  enjoy  the  completest  form  of  home  rule. 

After  our  discovery  of  the  white  towers  we  continued  to 
follow  the  river  up  for  some  days,  meeting  similar  tow^ers  with 
great  frequency.  Day  after  day  we  looked  across  at  the 
land  where  dwell  the  so-called  Mantsz,  the  wildmen,  and  as 
we  did  so  we  wished  much  to  get  into  that  land  and  lift 
the  veil  off  one  of  the  remaining  mysteries  of  inland  China. 
The  ferries,  however,  were  guarded,  and  for  some  time 
no  chance  opened  out  for  us.  At  night  all  the  ferry-boats 
are  drawn  up  on  the  Chinese  bank,  so  as  to  prevent  the  hill- 
men  using  the  boats  for  any  midnight  raid.  Apparently  the 
hillmen  sleep  in  peace,  never  dreaming  that  the  Chinese  could 
cross  in  these  same  boats  and  serve  their  homes  as  they  have 
so  often  served  the  Chinese  homes  and  farms. 

There  is  a great  contrast  in  the  cultivation  on  the  two  sides 
of  the  river.  On  the  southern  side,  where  the  Chinese  dwell, 
the  country  is  like  one  great,  well -cultivated  garden,  where 
cotton,  sugar-cane,  rice,  maize,  sweet  potatoes,  monkey  nuts, 
oranges,  pomegranates,  persimmons,  etc.,  etc.,  produce 
bountiful  crops.  Just  across  the  river,  which  is  often  less 
than  a hundred  yards  wide,  in  the  land  which  would  produce 
similar  crops  in  equally  rich  profusion,  we  saw  very  few  signs 
of  cultivation.  Most  of  the  land  was  neglected  jungle.  It  is 
a constant  eyesore  to  the  Chinese,  who  before  everything  else 
are  farmers  and  who  long  for  the  opportunity  of  extracting 
from  the  neglected  land  the  riches  it  is  so  willing  to  give 
to  those  who  treat  it  patiently  and  kindly.  A garden  on  one 
side  of  the  river  and  a desert  on  the  other,  the  soil  the  same 


THE  SECRET  OF  THE  WTIITE  TOWERS  43 


in  each  case.  Some  day  in  the  land  where  these  hillmen  live 
there  will  be  a great  outlet  for  the  surplus  population  of  the 
neighbouring  provinces,  but  that  day  as  yet  seems  a long 
way  off. 

One  day,  while  still  following  the  river  and  looking  with 
longing  eyes  at  the  unknown  land  on  the  other  side,  we  came 
to  the  Hill  of  Slippery  Sand,  and  found  the  worst  piece  of 
land  I had  ever  travelled  over,  in  nearly  twenty  years  of  life 
in  West  China.  The  place  has  a fearful  reputation,  and  the 
man  who  has  been  over  the  Hill  of  Slippery  Sand  talks  about 
it  to  the  end  of  his  days.  Tlie  road  winds  in  and  out  around 
the  face  of  a long,  high  cliff,  and  is  sometimes  less  than  a foot 
in  width.  There  is  a sheer  cut  dowm  to  the  roaring  waters 
below,  and  there  is  no  outside  protection  to  the  road  at  all. 
As  one  walks  or  crawls  along,  the  cliff  seems  to  press  over  and 
to  lean  on  to  one,  as  if  it  were  some  recruiting  demon  in 
league  with  the  treacherous  waters  below,  trying  to  force  one 
into  the  deeps  and  destruction.  Here  and  there  the  road 
is  a little  wider,  and  one  can  sit  down  and  rest  in  safety. 
Different  parts  of  the  road  are  named  after  the  various 
stations  in  the  Chinese  Temple  of  Hades,  and  a knowledge 
of  these  names  did  not  add  to  one’s  feeling  of  comfort.  The 
King  of  Hell’s  Slide,  Tlae  Gate  of  Hell,  The  Last  Look  at 
Home,  The  Place  where  even  the  Soul  is  Lost — ^these  are 
some  of  the  names  given  to  points  on  the  road  over  the  Hill 
of  Slippery  Sand.  At  one  point,  about  half-way  across,  some- 
one had  built  a small  shrine,  and  here  used  to  sit  an  old 
woman  selling  oatmeal.  In  the  Chinese  Temple  of  Hades, 
after  all  the  many  torture  chambers  have  been  gone  through, 
the  adventurous  lost  soul  approaches  the  gate  of  trans- 
migration, and  prepares  for  his  re-entrance  into  the  world. 


44  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  WHITE  TOWERS 


At  this  gate  sits  an  old  woman,  selling  the  “ Broth  of 
Oblivion,”  the  Chinese  equivalent  of  the  Waters  of  Lethe. 
When  the  soul  has  drunk  of  this  broth  it  forgets  all  about 
its  former  existence,  and  all  about  its  many  adventures  in 
Hades,  and  goes  with  a clean  memory  slate  into  the  world 
once  more. 

The  travellers  over  the  Hill  of  Slippery  Sand  dubbed  the 
old  lady  who  sold  the  oatmeal  “ The  Lady  in  charge  of  the 
Broth  of  Oblivion.”  When  travellers  reached  this  spot  it 
is  said  that  they  promptly  sat  down  and  repented  of 
ninety-five  per  cent,  of  all  their  evil  deeds  and  sins,  so 
that  the  good  spirits  might  come  and  help  them  over  the 
rest  of  the  dangerous  path. 

When  we  were  near  this  conscience-awakening  spot  some 
travellers  told  me  some  stories  to  keep  up  our  pluck.  One 
of  the  stories  was  this : A family  was  crossing  this  Hill 
of  Slippery  Sand.  In  front  walked  the  boy  of  twelve. 
Next  came  the  mother,  carrying  the  baby  on  her  back,  in 
the  usual  convenient  way.  Last  of  all  came  the  father, 
bearing  some  goods.  The  boy  slipped  and  fell  over.  The 
mother  shrieked  in  terror,  lost  her  balance  and  followed 
the  boy.  Fright  struck  the  father  likewise,  and  he  also 
fell  into  the  raging  billows.  Tlie  whole  family  was  gone 
in  a few  seconds. 

Those  who  are  used  to  the  road  go  over  it  as  if  it  were 
nothing  at  all  unusual.  Long  before  I reached  the  end  of  the 
cliff  road  my  legs  were  shaking,  my  heart  was  beating  loudly 
and  I had  to  strain  all  nerves  to  kecj)  at  all  steady.  One  of 
my  coolies,  who  carried  my  bedding  and  other  things,  in  two 
baskets  slung  from  the  ends  of  a pole  over  his  shoulder,  went 
across  as  if  it  were  great  fun,  and  at  the  end  said  : “ I have 


THE  SECRET  OF  THE  VVIIITE  T0W1:RS  45 


for  long  wished  to  meet  and  conquer  this  much-talked-of 
Hill  of  Slippery  Sand.” 

A few  miles  beyond  this  dangerous  spot  we  came  to  the 
“ Plain  of  the  Great  Well,”  where  is  a small  market  town 
frequented  by  the  men  from  the  hills  on  the  other  side  of  the 
river.  We  stayed  there  a couple  of  days,  and  as  one  of  these 
was  market  day  we  saw  quite  a number  of  the  men  the  fear 
of  whom  has  been  the  cause  of  building  all  the  white  towers. 
A friend  persuaded  four  of  these  men  to  face  the  camera,  but 
before  I got  the  picture  they  fled  from  the  foreigner’s  new 
kind  of  gun,  which,  for  all  they  knew,  might  possess  wonderful 
powers  of  bewitching.  Later  on  another  group  was  coaxed 
in,  and  these  stood  the  ordeal  manfully,  but  not  without  a 
good  bit  of  fear  and  trembling. 

The  afternoon  of  the  second  day  we  went  down  with 
several  of  these  men  to  the  ferry-boat  and  wished  that  we 
could  go  across  with  them.  We  found  out  that  Chinese  who 
wish  to  speak  fairly  respectfully  of  these  hillmen  call  them 
Babu,  which  term  may  be  a corruption  of  two  Chinese  words 
meaning  “ hill  climbers.”  The  Babus  of  West  China  have 
no  affinity  whatever  with  the  Babus  of  Bengal.  One  would 
like  to  be  quite  sure  of  the  origin  of  the  word  as  applied  to 
the  hillmen.  To  this  term  the  tribesmen  make  no  special 
objection,  though  it  is  by  no  means  a name  of  their  own 
choice.  Some  Babu  men  came  down  to  meet  the  boat  on  the 
other  side,  and  as  two  clans  have  their  borders  near  the  ferry, 
those  who  came  were  armed,  in  case  of  attack  by  enemies. 
Clan  enmity  and  tribal  warfare  are  very  rife.  I noticed  that 
some  of  the  men  carried  very  long  spears,  much  longer  than 
those  carried  by  the  Chinese  on  the  south  of  the  river. 

A few  were  carrying  wine  across,  in  goatskins.  I was  told 


46  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  WHITE  TOWERS 


that  they  are  great  wine,  or  rather  spirit,  drinkers.  The 
samshu  distilled  by  the  Chinese  is  far  stronger  than  the  local 
product  made  by  the  hillmen,  and  they  prize  what  they  can 
purchase  on  the  market  far  more  than  what  they  make 
themselves. 

Twenty  miles  above  the  Plain  of  the  Great  Well  is  another 
small  market  town,  notable  as  the  place  where  the  first  bridge 
across  the  Yangtse,  from  the  mouth  up,  was  built.  Tlie  river 
is  about  thirty  yards  wide  at  this  place,  and  across  it  was 
built  a hawser  bridge  on  the  same  principle  as  the  transporter 
bridges.  The  Chinese  name  for  such  a transporter  is  “ liu.” 
It  usually  consists  of  just  one  big  bamboo  hawser,  fastened 
to  rocks  on  either  side  of  the  river.  From  the  hawser  hangs 
a loop,  sometimes  merely  a loop  of  rope ; sometimes  a little 
board  seat  is  provided  as  well.  These  rope  transporters  are 
very  common  over  the  many  rivers  of  West  China.  The 
traveller  slips  into  the  loop  and  slides  down  to  the  lowest 
part  of  the  hawser  bridge.  Then  he  pulls  himself  up,  hand 
over  hand,  until  he  reaches  the  other  side.  Sometimes  he  is 
helped  across  by  men  who  are  stationed  on  either  side,  in 
charge  of  the  transporter.  These  men  pull  the  loop  to  either 
side,  by  means  of  a small  rope  attached  to  it.  The  first 
sensation  as  the  loop  is  freed  and  goes  down  the  slope  is 
very  strange.  If  you  have  any  nerves  at  all  they  begin  to  be 
very  jumpy.  The  slide  down  is  comfortable  enough,  but  what 
lies  underneath  is  the  disturbing  factor  in  the  situation. 
The  lius  arc  often  over  very  treacherous  stretches  of  water, 
with  roaring  rapids  or  fierce  falls  dashing  against  rocks  in 
midstream.  It  is  what  awaits  one,  should  the  rope  break, 
or  the  traveller  lose  his  balance,  that  disturbs  one.  If  you 
only  think  of  the  rope,  and  forget  the  raging  waters  and  jagged 


THE  SECRET  OF  THE  WHITE  TOWERS  47 


rocks  below,  the  experience  on  the  rope  bridge  is  pleasant 
enough.  The  first  time  I crossed  one  of  these  I was  in  com- 
pany with  another  missionary,  a fine  speeimen  of  a sturdy 
John  Bull  Englishman.  I got  safely  over  without  mishap, 
and  laughed  at  the  quivering  dance  my  nerves  had  set  up  as  I 
hung  over  the  rapids  for  a few  seconds  while  the  slaek-pulling 
rope  was  being  gathered  in.  My  eompanion  was  not  so 
fortmiate.  He  slid  down  to  the  centre  of  the  bridge  all 
right,  and  then  the  man  in  eharge  began  to  pull  up  the  rope 
on  the  other  side.  Before  half  the  journey  up  had  been 
eompleted,  the  pulling  rope  broke,  and  back  went  the  traveller 
to  the  eentre  of  the  rope  bridge,  where  he  remained  dangling 
for  some  time  over  the  angry  waters.  It  was  an  awkward 
position  to  be  in,  and  did  not  look  at  all  pleasant  to  those 
who  were  looking  on. 

Those  who  are  used  to  this  method  of  crossing  rivers  soon 
learn  to  treat  the  situation  with  freedom  and  carelessness. 
Sheep  and  goats  are  often  sent  aeross  in  the  same  way,  and 
very  rarely  does  a mishap  take  plaee. 

This  first  bridge  over  the  Yangtse,  the  bamboo  transporter, 
does  not  now  exist.  One  night  a band  of  the  wildmen  from 
the  unexplored  hills  silently  erossed  over,  and  while  the 
Chinese  in  the  little  market  near  by  were  sleeping  peaeefully 
the  hillmen  set  fire  to  the  houses  and  in  the  confusion  stole 
a number  of  ehildren  and  gathered  much  loot.  They  were 
over  the  liu  and  elean  away  with  their  spoils  before  any 
steps  eould  be  taken  to  stop  them.  The  day  after  the  market 
people  cut  the  bamboo  transporter,  and  now  the  first  bridge 
over  the  Yangtse  is  only  reached  after  many  hundred  miles 
more  have  been  travelled  towards  the  som-ee  of  the  great 


river. 


48  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  WHITE  TOWERS 


For  days  one  travels  along  on  the  south  bank  of  the  river, 
reminded  of  a giant  with  one  arm  strong  and  muscular  and 
the  other  withered  and  useless : the  south  bank  beautifully 
cultivated  and  the  north  bare  and  withered  up.  Tales  of 
midnight  raids,  of  exciting  adventure,  of  hairbreadth  escapes, 
can  be  gathered  on  all  hands.  The  dread  hand  of  terror  has 
a grip  of  all  the  people,  and  yet  the  soil  is  so  fertile  and  pro- 
ductive that  the  Chinese  are  prepared  to  risk  everything 
rather  than  move  away.  Many  are  the  songs  and  ballads 
sung  or  chanted  here  to  the  plaintive  strains  of  the  quaint 
two-stringed  fiddle.  I have  been  told  that  the  people  living 
in  this  dangerous  district  can  put  such  emotion  and  plaint 
into  their  song,  that  bystanders  burst  into  tears  as  they  squat 
and  listen  to  the  story  of  the  sufferings  of  the  song  heroes 
and  heroines.  Those  who  imagine  that  the  Cliinese  are 
devoid  of  high  emotion  and  sentiment,  and  think  that  their 
most  worshipped  god  is  the  god  of  riches,  would  be  surprised 
if  they  got  right  to  the  back  of  the  Chinaman’s  mind.  They 
would  find  that  there  lives  a great  well  of  poetry  and  passion 
which  at  times  bursts  into  high  song  and  reveals  a heart 
and  mind  akin  to  that  of  a southern  European  or  a passionate 
Hindu.  We  laugh  sometimes  at  the  musical  instruments 
of  this  Oriental  race,  and  the  screeching  tones  of  the  two- 
stringed fiddle  almost  set  the  teeth  of  a European  on  edge. 
Yet  in  the  hands  of  a village  expert  these  two  strings  can  tell 
stories  of  passion  and  intrigue,  of  love  and  disappointment, 
and  can  move  the  emotions  of  the  hearers  in  a marvellous 
way.  Those  who  go  to  sleep  at  night  with  the  great  Yangtse 
roaring  a few  yards  from  their  doors,  and  whose  dreams  are 
of  the  hillmen  who  for  centuries  have  raided  at  will,  and  put 
their  terror  into  the  hearts  of  many,  live  very  ncai*  the 


THE  SECRET  OF  THE  WHITE  TOWERS  49 


primitive  emotions,  and  with  song  and  rude  instrument  have 
learnt  how  to  make  these  emotions  vocal  and  how  to  interpret 
their  meaning  to  their  fellow-men.  The  song  of  the  Upper 
Yangtse  men  is  the  song  of  real  men  and  it  plays  on  the 
emotions  of  those  who  are  privileged  to  hear  it. 


D 


CHAPTER  IV 


THE  ABORIGINALS  OF  WEST  CHINA 

WHICHEVER  way  the  traveller  enters  China  he 
immediately  finds  a country  full  of  interest  and  a 
people  whose  daily  round  of  living  seems  altogether 
different  from  anything  to  be  found  in  Europe  or  America. 
Wherever  he  lands,  if  he  is  a man  with  a seeing  eye,  it  will 
be  the  people  that  have  the  most  attraction  for  him.  If  he 
travels  by  the  great  Siberian  railway,  that  wonderful  monu- 
ment to  Russian  genius  and  patience  which  stretches  its  way 
all  through  the  north  of  Asia,  and  so  enters  China  by  Man- 
churia, he  will  see  Mongol  and  Manchu,  Chinese  and  Japanese, 
Russian  and  German,  mixing  with  each  other  at  the  railway 
station,  and  in  the  busy  marts,  and  in  the  mixing  of  these 
races  he  will  see  great  political  problems  working  themselves 
out,  and  he  will  wonder  what  will  be  the  result  in  a hundred 
years’  time  of  the  commingling  of  these  races,  each  with  a 
mission  and  ideal  of  its  own. 

If  he  travels  on  one  of  the  great  liners  and  enters  China 
by  Shanghai,  he  will  be  still  more  impressed  by  the  great 
crowds  of  mixed  races.  Someone  from  almost  every  country 
on  the  face  of  the  globe  walks  the  streets  of  Shanghai.  Sikhs 
mix  with  Philippinos,  Cantonese  jostle  Koreans,  men  from 
all  the  eighteen  provinces  of  China  frequent  the  tea-shops  and 
theatres  on  the  Foochow  Road,  bluejackets  of  various  nations 
chum  up  together;  Japanese,  with  their  funny  wooden 
clogs,  make  money  in  Hongkcw ; Britishers  and  Americans 

50 


THE  ABORIGINALS  OF  WEST  CHINA  51 


make  and  lose  fortunes  on  the  Exchange,  while  banks 
from  nearly  all  the  countries  in  Europe  daily  quote  the 
w’orld’s  prices.  Women  of  every  nationality,  and  white, 
yellow  and  black  children  are  seen  everywhere.  In  the 
midst  of  all  this  bewildering  blending  of  races  and  confusion 
of  interests  the  keenest  man  of  business  is  the  man  who  used 
to  wear  the  pigtail  and  who  now,  in  semi-Western  dress,  feels 
himself  to  be,  what  in  all  probability  he  is,  the  equal  of  any 
race  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  The  gathering  of  the  races  at 
Jerusalem  for  the  great  Pentecost  Feast  was  a mild  mixture 
compared  with  the  gathering  of  peoples  who  throng  the  streets 
of  China’s  chief  open  port,  where  nominally  the  white  man 
rules  but  where  in  reality  the  yellow  man  is  the  great 
speculative  owner  of  the  soil  and  the  ruling  factor  in  most 
policies. 

Should  the  traveller  enter  from  Hong-Kong,  the  scene  in  the 
southern  port  of  Canton  is  very  much  like  that  at  Shanghai. 
Here  again  all  countries,  all  races,  all  provinces  are  repre- 
sented, and  the  quick-stepping,  keen-eyed,  much-travelled 
Chinaman  is  the  endm’ing  force  which  in  the  end  wdll  dominate. 

There  are  at  least  two  other  great  roads  into  China,  one 
from  the  west  thi’ough  Burma  into  the  western  province  of 
Yunnan,  and  one  from  the  French  colony  of  Tongking  leading 
up  that  wonderful  railway,  one  of  the  engineering  triumphs 
of  the  world.  This  road  also  leads  into  the  province  of 
Yrnman.  The  traveller  coming  either  of  these  ways  will 
meet  the  same  remarkable  mixture  of  races.  The  Chinaman 
is  much  in  evidence,  but  he  is  by  no  means  alone.  In  the 
towns  and  villages,  on  the  markets  and  by  the  roadside  there 
is  a pictirresque  blending  of  many  peoples.  Here  are  seen 
the  aboriginal  races  of  China,  the  men  who  in  centuries  gone 


52  THE  ABORIGINALS  OF  WEST  CHINA 


by  dwelt  throughout  the  whole  land  from  the  borders  of 
Tibet  to  the  shores  of  the  China  Sea. 

The  student  of  ethnology  finds  himself  in  his  element  when 
he  reaches  the  populous  western  provinces  of  China.  If  he 
attends  one  of  the  important  village  markets  on  a market 
day  he  will  hear  a number  of  different  languages  spoken, 
see  representatives  of  several  different  tribes,  and  watch  as 
animated  and  interesting  a scene  as  his  heart  could  wish  for. 
The  small-footed  Chinese  woman  with  the  long  baggy  trousers 
is  but  one  of  the  many  women  on  the  market,  and  her  crippled, 
unnatural  walking  motion  compares  very  imfavom*ably  with 
the  quick,  upright,  graceful  movements  of  the  hillwomen, 
who  would  scorn  to  bind  their  feet,  and  who  walk  like  women 
of  a conquering  race.  Miao  men  with  double  pigtails,  Nosu 
women  with  long  skirts  almost  sweeping  the  ground,  hill 
lasses  with  short  skirts  of  many  colours  and  long  plaits  of 
hair  almost  golden  at  the  tips,  strapping  Min-Chia  women 
bearing  huge  bundles  of  firewood  hung  by  a strap  around  the 
forehead,  here  and  there  a Babu  man  with  his  long  felt  cape 
made,  pleats  and  all,  in  one  piece,  women  with  curious  horns 
on  their  heads,  others  with  huge  combs  stuck  crosswise  in  the 
back  of  their  hair,  long  skirts  and  short  skirts,  wide  trousers 
and  no  trousers,  shoes  of  many  colours  and  shapes  and, 
prettier  and  more  graceful  than  all,  the  five-toed  natural  foot, 
revealing  no  trace  of  deformity  and  equal  to  a hearty  exciting 
dance  on  the  hill-sides — these  the  traveller  sees  in  markets 
of  many  parts  of  West  China.  Tlie  mixture  of  races  con- 
fronts him  again.  Once  more  he  faces  old-world  problems. 
Here,  however,  he  does  not  wonder  what  will  be  the  outcome 
in  a hundred  years’  time.  On  the  contrary,  he  sees  a wonder- 
ful example  of  the  patient  way,  the  wise  way,  in  which  China 


THE  ABORIGINALS  OF  WEST  CHINA  53 


has  solved  a problem  which  some  European  and  American 
Christian  peoples  fail  entirely  to  solve.  If  the  United  States 
Government  in  Ameriea  or  the  British  Government  in  South 
Afriea  had  pursued  the  same  poliey  as  China  has  pursued  in 
her  treatment  of  other  raecs  some  of  the  burning  questions 
of  the  world  would  have  been  settled  long  ago.  As  soon  as 
China  conquers  a people  she  gives  to  them,  on  the  same 
terms,  all  the  privileges  which  her  own  sons  possess.  In 
the  Manchu  days,  when  the  Civil  Service  of  China  and  the 
Government  degrees  were  open  to  all  by  a series  of  stiff 
examinations,  a black  Miao  or  a white  Nosu  could  sit  and 
compete  side  by  side  with  the  Sons  of  Han,  who  claimed  all 
the  best  traditions  of  their  great  Chinese  race. 

One  of  the  most  powerful  viceroys  that  has  ever  ruled  in 
Western  China  was  a Nosu  from  the  province  of  Kwangsi. 
The  General  Long  who  at  the  time  of  writing  this  is  ruling 
over  the  province  of  Kwangtung,  in  the  interests  of  President 
Yuan,  and  who  a short  time  ago  crushed  out  all  revolution 
centring  in  Canton,  is  an  aboriginal  of  Yunnan.  Several 
Christian  aboriginal  preachers  belonging  to  the  churches  of 
Yunnan  and  Kweichow  took  their  B.A.  degrees  in  open 
competition  and  on  equal  terms  with  the  Chinese  literati. 
Some  of  the  members  of  China’s  first  Parliament  were 
tribesmen  from  West  China  elected  in  the  same  way  as  the 
other  members. 

When  the  republic  of  China  chose  the  five-bar  flag  as  the 
national  flag  of  the  United  Country  many  concluded,  and  I 
among  them,  that  the  black  bar  at  the  bottom  of  the  flag 
included  the  tribes  of  West  China.  Through  a friend  at 
Shanghai  I inquired  of  China’s  greatest  lawyer,  Dr  Wu  Ting 
Fang,  formerly  Ambassador  to  the  United  States,  what 


54  THE  ABORIGINALS  OF  WEST  CHINA 


position  in  the  flag  the  tribes  of  Yunnan  and  Kweichow  held. 
He  wrote  back  saying  that  in  his  opinion  these  peoples  were 
included  in  the  red  bar,  the  Chinese  bar  holding  the  premier 
position  at  the  head  of  the  flag.  As  the  tribes  had  submitted 
to  the  Chinese  Government  long  ago,  and  were  thereby 
entitled  to  the  same  privileges  as  the  ordinary  Sons  of  Han, 
the  real  Chinese,  he  concluded  that  they  also  were  reckoned 
as  Chinese.  He  said  that  he  had  met  several  of  these  men 
who  had  been  elected  to  Parliament  and  concluded  that  they 
took  their  political  stand  by  the  side  of  the  Chinese.  Thus 
the  aboriginals,  in  the  opinion  of  this  well-informed  lawyer, 
were  not  included  in  the  black  Tibetan  bar,  but  in  the  red 
Chinese  bar.  One  can  hardly  imagine  the  whites  of  Australia 
treating  their  black  aboriginals  in  this  way,  nor  the  Union 
Government  of  South  Africa  so  treating  the  indentured 
Indians,  who  also  are  subjects  of  the  great  British  Raj. 
When  one  studies  closely  the  political  statesmanship  of  the 
Chinese  one  can  easily  understand  how  the  great  empire  has 
stood  so  long,  weathering  all  changes,  absorbing  all  conquerors, 
governing  all  conquered  races,  and  as  strong  in  the  twentieth 
century  as  she  was  in  the  first.  One  is  bewildered  when  one 
first  attempts  to  classify  all  the  tribes  of  Western  China. 
Long  inquiry,  however,  has  led  one  to  simplify  them  all  into 
two  or  at  most  three  races.  I should  divide  all  these  peoples 
into  Nosu,  Miao  and  Shan.  The  Shan  dwell  in  the  western 
parts  of  Yunnan  and  spread  into  Burma.  The  Nosu  are 
all  over  Yunnan,  in  the  west  of  Szechuan  and  in  a small 
part  of  Kweichow.  The  Miao  arc  found  all  over  Kweichow, 
in  some  parts  of  Yunnan  and  in  a few  places  in  Szechuan. 
Nearly  all  the  tribes  one  meets  with  in  these  three  western 
provinces  can  be  divided  into  these  three  classes.  One  bases 


THE  ABORIGINALS  OF  WEST  CHINA  55 


this  division  partly  on  similarity  of  customs  among  the 
different  brandies  of  the  same  elass  and  partly  on  evidence 
furnished  by  the  languages  spoken  by  the  various  tribes. 

The  Nosu  and  Miao  languages  stand  in  one  elass  and  the 
Shan  in  another.  In  nearly  all  words  of  the  first  class  the 
vowel  ends  the  word.  The  trifling  exception  to  this  rule  is 
found  in  words  which  end  in  “ ng.”  These  two  languages 
are  thus  similar  to  the  Japanese,  where  the  same  rule  pre- 
vails. It  can  easily  be  noticed  in  such  words  as  Yo-ko-ha- 
ma,  Na-ga-sa-ki.  In  some  words  which  have  been  taken 
from  Chinese,  whose  language  and  literature  have  had  great 
influence  over  the  Island  Kingdom,  this  vowel-ending  rule 
has  been  modified,  but  in  purely  Japanese  words  the  rule 
w’hich  is  extant  in  Nosu  and  Miao  prevails  there  also.  This 
fact  may  strengthen  the  very  reasonable  idea  held  by  some, 
that  the  Japanese  race  originally  came  from  the  east  coast  of 
China,  where  centuries  ago  the  Miao  races  predominated. 
This  vowel -ending  rule,  which  gives  great  euphony  to  the 
languages,  is  broken  when  one  comes  to  the  Shan  dialects, 
and  one  immediately  concludes  that  the  Shan  belong  to 
another  race  than  the  Nosu  or  Miao.  On  comparing  the 
various  dialects  spoken  by  the  different  branches  of  the  Nosu 
and  Miao  one  soon  sees  that  these  two  peoples  have  freely 
borrowed  words  from  each  other.  The  structure  of  the 
languages  is,  however,  very  different.  In  the  Nosu  languages 
the  object  follows  the  subject  and  precedes  the  verb.  WTien 
one  first  came  up  against  this  peculiarity  something  very 
familiar  seemed  to  touch  one’s  brain.  It  seemed  as  if  one 
had  had  a dream  years  ago,  and  then  suddenly  had  run  up 
against  the  places  and  events  of  the  dream.  After  a while 
the  ghost  of  Julius  Caesar  appeared  to  one,  and  the  memory 


56  THE  ABORIGINALS  OF  WEST  CHINA 


of  days  at  school  when  we,  as  novices,  were  struggling  with 
De  Bello  Gallico,  came  back  vividly.  That  wretched  elusive 
verb  which  refused  to  appear  until  everything  else  under  the 
sun  had  appeared,  and  claimed  the  privilege  of  ending  all 
sentences  and  trumping  all  cards,  how  it  had  worried  us 
in  the  young  days  ! And  how  pleased  we  were  to  find  it 
strongly  entrenched  in  this  Eastern  language,  refusing  to 
take  any  place  until  subject,  object  and  explanatory  words 
had  all  appeared.  Nosu  and  Julius  Caesar  joined  together 
by  the  idiosyncrasy  of  a verb  ! If  the  great  warrior  were 
only  to  appear  again  he  might  find  in  the  sturdy  Nosu  races 
of  West  China  warlike  legions  enough  not  to  win  him  the 
purple  of  Rome  but  the  Dragon  Seat  of  the  greatest  empire 
in  the  greatest  of  continents. 

In  Miao  the  verb  is  as  it  is  in  English.  It  is  content  to 
link  subject  with  object  and  never  from  false  modesty  or 
pure  perversity  refuses  to  appear  until  all  else  has  eome 
into  the  limelight.  If  one  has  any  doubt  as  to  where  to 
locate  any  of  the  many  tribes  in  West  China  the  position  of 
the  verb  in  the  sentence  will,  as  a rule,  give  one  an  unerring 
clue  to  the  solution  of  the  problem. 

During  the  last  deeade  Westerners  have  come  closely  into 
touch  with  many  of  these  tribes.  Both  Protestant  and 
Catholic  missionaries  have  lived  for  years  right  among  these 
peoples,  and  their  secrets,  which  had  been  hid  for  ages,  are 
now  open  to  all  who  wish  to  know.  Tlie  Chinese  have  never 
taken  a great  deal  of  trouble  to  find  out  the  history  of  these 
different  tribes,  and  while  willing  that  the  aboriginals  shall 
come  up  to  them,  learn  of  them,  and  share  their  privileges, 
they  have  never  been  very  keen  on  learning  from  the 
aboriginals.  Possibly  the  example  of  Mencius  has  confirmed 


A Rude  Siockade  on  a IIii.i.  as  a Defence  against  Raids 


A Group  of  Young  Aboriginals 

In  the  background  hemp  stalks  are  drying  in  the  sun. 


THE  ABORIGINALS  OF  WEST  CHINA  57 

the  Chinese  in  tlieir  attitude  towards  the  tribesmen.  The 
aneicnt  philosopher  said  : “ I have  heard  of  men  using  the 
doctrines  of  our  great  land  of  China  to  change  barbarians, 
but  I have  never  yet  heard  of  any  being  changed  by 
barbarians.”  The  word  translated  “ barbarian  ” is  the  word 
commonly  used  to  denote  the  Nosu.  In  spite  of  Mencius, 
the  aboriginals  have  many  good  points  which  the  Chinese 
might  learn  of  them. 

There  exists  one  fairly  interesting  Chinese  book  which  deals 
with  some  of  the  tribes  in  Yunnan,  but  the  wTiter  is  evidently 
not  very  much  in  love  with  his  subject.  He  gives,  however,  a 
story  as  to  the  origin  of  the  Chinese  and  Nosu.  The  story 
says  that  King  Asoka  of  Magadha,  in  India,  the  great  Indian 
king  who  lived  in  the  fourth  century  b.c.,  and  favoured 
Buddhism,  took  to  wife  one  of  the  natives  of  Yunnan,  and 
by  her  had  a son  named  Ti-meng-sie.  This  son  again  had 
nine  sons,  and  the  third,  Meng-sie-nioh,  became  the  ancestor 
of  the  Chinese.  The  ninth  son,  Meng-sie-tsuh,  became  the 
ancestor  of  the  white  Nosu.  Both  statements  are  evidently 
stupid  blunders,  or  can  only  refer  to  some  local  family,  a 
branch  of  which  afterwards  adopted  Chinese  customs  and  was 
looked  on  as  the  head  of  the  Chinese  in  that  district.  The 
Nosu  have  a far  earlier  origin  than  the  fomth  century  b.c. 
Very  likely  they  were  in  China  long  before  the  Chinese  trekked 
from  the  north-west,  and  established  themselves  in  South 
Shensi  and  North  Honan. 

Some  of  the  stories  of  the  aboriginals  told  by  this  wTiter 
are  very  good.  One  or  two  sound  strangely  familiar.  A 
ruler’s  widow,  with  her  son,  who  was  the  heir  to  the  throne, 
was  closely  pursued  by  enemies.  One  day  the  son  took  refuge 
in  an  old  temple,  and  shortly  after  those  who  wished  to 


58  THE  ABORIGINALS  OF  WEST  CHINA 


capture  him  came  up  to  the  entrance  of  this  temple.  They 
noticed  that  stretched  out  over  the  gateway  was  a large  vm- 
broken  spider’s  web,  and  immediately  went  away,  concluding 
that  no  one  could  have  entered  that  temple. 

Tliere  is  another  pretty  story  illustrating  the  old  adage  that 
marriages  are  made  in  heaven.  Possibly  they  were  in  the 
old  times  of  long,  long  ago,  but  a great  many  nowadays  are 
made  anywhere  but  in  heaven.  Prince  Meng-ko-lo-feng 
had  a daughter,  and  when  she  was  grown  up  he  wished  to 
choose  a husband  for  her.  The  girl  refused  her  consent  to 
this  course,  saying  that  it  was  not  right  to  choose  a husband, 
but  that  one  ought  to  let  heaven  make  the  choice.  She 
told  her  father  that  she  wished  to  sit  backwards  on  an  ox  and 
let  it  go  where  it  liked.  She  said  : “ No  matter  what  family 
lives  in  the  house  where  the  ox  goes,  whether  poor  or  rich, 
honourable  or  low,  there  I wish  to  be  married.”  Tlie  father 
was  at  last  compelled  to  let  his  daughter  have  her  o^vn  way. 
Women  had  a way  of  getting  their  own  even  in  those  remote 
days.  The  girl  then  proceeded  to  put  her  plan  into  exeeution. 
She  sat  on  the  ox  backward,  and  the  animal,  with  its  romantic 
rider,  set  off  on  its  fateful  journey.  Presently,  when  going 
down  a narrow  lane,  it  turned  its  head  aside  and  entered  a 
lowly  cottage.  The  girl  got  off,  and  seeing  an  old  woman 
sitting  in  the  house  she  asked  her  the  question  : “ Have  you 
a son  ? ” “ Yes,”  was  the  reply ; “ he  is  out  gathering  fire- 

wood at  present.”  The  princess  then  bowed  to  the  old  lady 
as  daughters  do  to  their  mothers-in-law,  and  soon  after 
married  the  son  who  had  been  out  gathering  firewood  in  total 
ignorance  of  the  romance  awaiting  him  at  home.  The  prince 
was  very  angry  at  the  turn  of  affairs  and  cut  his  daughter 
right  off. 


THE  ABORIGINALS  OF  WEST  CHINA  59 


One  day  tlic  husband,  noticing  the  ornament  in  liis  wife’s 
liair,  asked  her  what  it  w’as  made  of.  The  wife  told  him  it 
was  made  of  gold.  Then  the  husband  said  : “ Wliere  I 
gather  firewood  there  are  many  stones  which  arc  similar  to 
that.”  lie  went  and  brought  one  back,  and  they  found  that 
it  was  indeed  gold.  Soon  after  the  daughter  made  a feast 
and  invited  her  father.  He  refused  to  come,  and  sent  a 
message  saying  : “ If  you  arc  able  to  build  me  a golden  bridge 
and  a silver  road  from  my  house  to  yours,  I will  come,  but 
not  otherwise.”  By  means  of  the  gold  discovered  on  the  hill- 
side the  daughter  actually  carried  out  the  father’s  seemingly 
impossible  condition.  Wlien  the  father  walked  across  the 
golden  bridge  he  sighed  and  said  : “ Truly  this  is  a marriage 
made  in  heaven.” 

Tlie  same  Chinese  wTiter  says  of  one  tribe  that  each  chief 
has  several  hundred  wives  and  even  ordinary  men  have 
several  tens.  One  wonders  where  they  managed  to  get 
such  quantities  of  women,  unless  in  those  days  it  was  male 
and  not  female  infanticide  that  was  common.  The  women  of 
this  tribe  are  said  to  have  a magic  plan  to  make  their  husbands 
think  of  them  even  when  they  are  a thousand  li  away.  But 
“ This  plan  they  will  reveal  to  no  outsider.”  If  one  could 
only  find  out  such  a plan  and  turn  it  to  commercial  use  one 
might  make  a fortune  in  some  Eastern  countries. 

The  bridegrooms  of  another  tribe  carry  their  brides  home 
on  their  backs. 

With  such  stories  the  Chinese  author  adds  a little  interest 
to  the  records  of  the  four  volumes  which  compose  his 
Unofficial  Records  of  the  Southern  State. 

One  is  quite  safe  in  saying  that  in  the  next  fifty  years  the 
world  will  know  more  about  the  aboriginals  of  West  China 


60  THE  ABORIGINALS  OF  WEST  CHINA 

from  the  writings  of  Westerners  than  from  the  writings  of 
Chinese.  One  wishes,  however,  that  some  gifted  sympathetic 
Chinaman  would  set  to  work  to  gather  up  all  the  records 
possible  of  these  deeply  interesting  tribes  people.  Writing 
from  an  Oriental  standpoint,  the  result  of  such  labours  would 
be  of  immense  value. 


CHAPTER  V 


DOWN  TO  THE  FERRY 

IT  was  in  the  month  of  November  when  my  chance  came 
to  enter  the  land  north  of  the  Yangtse  and  to  attempt 
to  lift  the  veil  from  that  deeply  interesting  country. 
No  European  had  as  yet  penetrated  the  heart  of  independent 
Nosu  land,  and  it  can  be  easily  imagined  that  I was  very 
much  excited  at  the  adventmes  which  were  to  come. 

I was  living  at  that  time  in  the  city  of  Chaotung,  the 
second  largest  city  in  the  province  of  Yunnan,  and  just  twenty 
miles  from  where  I am  now  writing  this  story. 

The  friend  who  promised  to  guide  me  on  my  much-longed- 
for  trip  was  a wealthy  chieftain  named  Long.  This  Mr  Long 
lives  near  the  River  Yangtse,  on  the  slopes  of  a high  hill  facing 
the  land  where  dwell  the  famous,  much-dreaded  tribesmen. 
In  early  days  he  had  been  the  centre  of  much  fighting,  and 
had  only  been  saved  by  the  wisdom  and  great  exertions  of 
his  mother,  a most  remarkable  aboriginal  woman.  When 
Mr  Long  was  but  two  years  old,  the  whole  country-side  was  in 
the  throes  of  the  great  Mohammedan  rebellion  which  centred 
at  Tali  Fu,  in  the  west  of  Yunnan.  This  rebellion  cost 
millions  of  lives,  and  decades  of  hard  work,  before  the  Central 
Government  once  more  got  supreme  control.  There  was 
continuous  fighting  on  all  hands,  and  much  land  was  lost  or 
stolen.  A Mr  Hsu  tried  hard  to  get  all  the  land  of  the  Longs, 
and  the  widowed  mother  had  to  fight  persistently  to  keep 
what  she  had.  She  was  determined  to  deliver  her  estates 
6i 


62 


DOWN  TO  THE  FERRY 


intact  to  her  only  son  when  he  became  of  age.  One  of  the 
first  things  she  did  was  to  remove  her  boy  from  the  scene  of 
conflict  and  to  ensure  his  safety.  So,  in  charge  of  a faithful 
slave,  she  sent  the  little  boy  across  the  Yangtse  into  the  home 
of  some  friend  among  the  independent  Nosu.  Here  he  was 
safe  from  his  enemies,  and  the  mother  could  fight  and  scheme 
unembarrassed  by  the  presence  of  the  boy  on  whose  life 
so  much  hung.  The  mother  now  set  to  work  to  beat  off 
her  opponents.  Again  and  again  they  attempted  to  gain 
possession  of  the  well-fortified  house  in  which  she  lived,  and 
on  two  occasions  they  managed  to  get  within  the  outer  walls. 
Once  they  forced  their  way  right  up  to  the  doors  of  the 
innermost  house,  and  the  defending  retainers  were  on  the 
point  of  giving  way.  The  dauntless  woman,  however,  was 
not  to  be  beaten.  She  would  show  her  men  how  to  fight. 
She  seized  a gun,  charged  it  with  extra  powder  and  shot  and 
discharged  it  through  the  door,  right  into  the  face  of  her 
enemies.  There  was  great  risk  of  its  exploding  and  destroy- 
ing the  desperate  woman.  Fortunately  it  only  killed  several 
of  the  enemy  and  demoralised  their  attack.  Her  own  men 
recovered  their  courage,  and  beat  the  attackers  right  off. 
Never  again  did  the  men  of  Hsu  get  so  near  victory.  Later  on, 
when  the  Mohammedans  were  finally  crushed  and  law  began 
to  reign  again,  the  woman  who  had  fought  so  dauntlessly 
displayed  her  energies  in  another  field.  She  entered  the  law 
courts  and  won  case  after  case  until  at  last  she  was  left  in 
peace.  In  the  end  the  son  entered  on  his  great  inheritance 
which  no  enemy  had  succeeded  in  wresting  from  its  faithful, 
brave  defender.  The  mother  showed  her  remarkable  char- 
acter in  another  way.  She  wished  to  make  sure  of  the  lands 
in  years  to  come,  and  so  chose  three  wives  for  her  one  son, 


63 


DOWN  TO  THE  FERRY 

settled  each  of  these  wives  in  a separate  home  within  the  same 
great  compound  and  sheltered  by  the  same  strong  walls,  and 
arranged  that  her  son  should  spend  his  time  a month  in  each 
establishment.  This  plan  has  answered  fairly  well,  and  the 
three  wives  have  managed  to  live  in  moderate  peace.  The 
first  wife  has  had  no  son,  but  the  second  wife  has  three.  She 
has  been  the  favourite  and  most  powerful  wife. 

At  the  invitation  of  Mr  Long  I went  to  stay  at  his 
place,  with  the  idea  of  making  an  attempt  to  cross  over  the 
river.  On  the  way  to  Mr  Long’s  w’e  stayed  the  night  once 
or  twice  in  the  homes  of  Nosu  landlords,  who  live  south  of 
the  Yangtse,  and  so  got  an  insight  into  the  home  life  of  these 
people.  At  every  one  of  these  homes  we  were  treated  most 
hospitably,  a sheep  being  killed  for  us  on  each  occasion. 
A very  short  time  after  the  sheep  was  killed  we  were  all 
sitting  around  the  table  devouring  it.  Years  ago  I used  to 
w'onder  at  the  records  in  Genesis  about  guests  waiting  while 
animals  were  killed  and  prepared  for  the  next  meal.  I no 
longer  wonder  at  this  most  ordinary  occurrence.  In  more 
ways  than  one,  the  Westerner  who  lives  on  the  hills  of  West 
China  finds  himself  in  the  days  of  Abraham.  Once  the 
hospitable  feast  began  with  an  extraordinary  dish,  much 
prized  by  these  Nosu.  Tlie  liver,  stomach,  heart,  etc.,  of  the 
sheep  are  minced  up  very  finely,  and  are  highly  seasoned 
with  pepper,  chillies,  onions,  salt  and  other  condiments. 
This  dish  is  usually  quite  raw,  and  each  guest  eats  with  a 
single  porcupine  quill.  It  sounds  a bit  awkward,  but  in 
reality  one  soon  gets  to  use  the  single  quill  quite  dexterously. 
I have  eaten  many  better  dishes  than  raw  sheep.  The  Nosu 
are,  however,  very  partial  to  this  dish,  and  give  it  to  their 
guests  as  a luxury. 


64 


DOWN  TO  THE  FERRY 


In  travelling  the  three  days’  joiu’ney  to  ISIi-  Long’s  home 
we  had  to  cross  a very  high  range  of  hiUs,  on  the  top  of  which 
are  a large  number  of  beautiful  springs  of  water.  Down  in 
the  valleys  below  these  hills  one  often  finds  tracts  of  land 
quite  waterless,  and  here,  high  up,  where  scarcely  anyone 
lives,  and  where  wolves  are  very  common,  we  came  across 
much  boggy  land,  with  large  gushing  streams  of  beautifully 
clear  water.  I do  not  know  the  explanation  of  this  exalted 
water  system. 

Descending  the  farther  side  of  this  high  range  of  hills,  we 
came  across  large  quantities  of  the  young  edelweiss.  These 
young  gossamer-covered  flowers  are  far  more  beautiful  than 
the  matm’e  flowers.  When  the  dew  has  fallen  on  the  little 
flowers,  and  the  early  morning  sun  shines  on  them,  the  sight 
is  one  to  make  a traveller  very  glad.  At  such  times  these 
flowers  seem  to  me  as  if  they  had  come  straight  out  from 
fairyland,  and  to  speak  of  a world  where  all  must  be  tending 
towards  peace  and  beauty. 

After  spending  a night  in  one  of  these  aboriginal  homes, 
where  pine  logs  arc  usually  burnt,  and  where  there  is  no 
outlet  for  the  dense  smoke,  one  is  always  glad  to  get  into  the 
open  air  again,  and  the  hills,  covered  with  their  flowers,  in 
the  early  morning  sunshine,  greet  one  with  the  cheeriest  of 
greetings.  One  often  wishes  of  an  evening  to  escape  from 
the  smoke  and  dirt  of  the  indoors,  out  into  the  moonlight  and 
the  late  evening  calm.  But  one  scarcely  ever  dares  to  do  so, 
for  the  dogs,  kept  by  these  Nosu  landlords,  are  often  terribly 
fierce  and  ready  to  tear  a stranger  to  pieces.  Sometimes,  if 
I have  ventured  two  feet  outside  of  the  door,  I have  had  to 
have  the  landlord  or  one  of  his  servants  by  my  side,  armed 
with  a heavy  stick.  Only  by  free  use  of  this  stick,  and  by 


DOWN  TO  THE  FERRY 


65 


vigorous  shouting  and  cursing  can  the  dogs  be  kept  from 
attacking  the  stranger ; and  they  always  seem  to  resent  the 
interference  on  the  part  of  the  landlord  with  the  stick,  as 
if  they  were  unjustly,  and  in  an  unsportsmanlike  manner, 
being  deprived  of  their  legitimate  prey.  The  landlord  who 
gave  us  the  savoury  dish  eaten  with  the  porcupine  quill  had 
ten  dogs,  and  they  were  fierce  brutes  all  of  them.  They  tried 
their  best  to  get  at  me,  and  I moved  about  in  great  fear  of  a 
sudden  rear  attack.  In  addition  to  the  dogs  our  host  had 
one  hundred  sheep,  twenty  cows,  ten  horses,  twenty  pigs, 
forty  fowls,  and  was  worth  about  two  thousand  ounees  of 
silver.  In  his  household  at  the  time  of  our  visit  he  had  six 
male  and  seven  female  slaves. 

When  we  arrived  at  Mr  Long’s  home  we  had  a very  warm 
weleome,  and  were  soon  very  eomfortably  settled  in  a room 
specially  built  for  guests.  Some  of  these  aboriginal  ehiefs 
know  well  how  to  make  guests  feel  at  home.  It  happened  to 
be  the  month  of  the  second  Mrs  Long,  and  to  her  fell  the 
care  of  the  guests.  I have  never  known  a lady,  in  England 
or  China,  who  knows  better  how  to  care  for  guests.  From 
early  morn  till  late  at  night,  she  and  her  servants  see  that 
guests  want  for  nothing,  and  he  must  be  a very  churl  who 
cannot  respond  to  such  Oriental  kindness. 

After  supper  we  sat  around  a large  charcoal  fire  and  told 
yarns.  Mr  Long  said  Chinese  and  Nosu  were  like  goats  and 
sheep.  No  sooner  are  the  Chinese  bullied  than  they  begin 
to  cry  out  like  goats,  and  to  call  the  attention  of  all  the  world 
to  their  troubles.  The  Nosu,  he  said,  were  like  sheep,  you 
may  even  kill  them,  and  they  will  remain  quiet  while  you 
do  so.  I should  like  to  hear  what  the  Chinese  would  say 
in  reference  to  this  comparison.  I remember  passing  a 

E 


66 


DOWN  TO  THE  FERRY 


farmer’s  house  on  one  occasion,  and  he  was  taking  the  skins 
off  a number  of  lambs,  I stopped  and  watched  the  process, 
wondering  why  the  farmer  was  doing  so.  In  reply  to  my 
question  he  told  me  that  in  the  night  a wolf  had  got  into 
the  fold,  and  had  bitten  a large  number  of  sheep  and  lambs. 
I asked  him  whether  he  had  not  heard  the  noise  of  the  killing, 
as  the  fold  formed  a part  of  the  house  in  which  he  lived. 
“ No,”  said  the  man,  “ these  stupid  sheep  will  let  the  wolf 
kill  as  many  as  he  wishes,  and  never  cry  out.  Now,  if 
they  had  been  goats,  they  would  have  made  noise  enough  to 
wake  us  all  up,  and  we  should  have  given  the  wolf  more  than 
he  expected.”  It  depends  on  the  point  of  view,  as  to  how 
you  pass  verdict  on  sheep  and  goats. 

During  the  first  night  at  Mr  Long’s  the  wolves  outside 
of  the  walls  howled  fearfully.  The  long  howl  of  the  brutes 
makes  one  feel  very  creepy.  If  three  or  four  of  these  animals 
are  separated,  and  start  calling  to  each  other,  the  noise  is  a 
most  uncanny  one.  The  wolf  puts  his  head  low  down,  close 
to  the  ground,  and  begins  to  howl  on  a very  low  note. 
Gradually  raising  his  head,  till  his  nose  points  up  to  the  sky, 
the  howl  goes  up  to  a higher  and  still  higher  note,  when  it 
dies  away  like  the  song  of  an  angry  gust  of  wind  on  a wild 
March  night.  The  dogs  inside  the  walls  replied  to  the  howl 
of  the  roaming  hungry  wolves  by  continuous  angry  barks, 
and  seemed  as  if  they  were  longing  to  try  conclusions  with 
the  midnight  raiders.  Not  long  before,  a wolf  had  managed 
to  get  right  into  the  compoimd.  It  did  this  more  than  once, 
and  then  it  was  determined  to  catch  him.  A small  pig  was 
tied  up  in  a basket,  just  under  the  room  in  which  I after- 
wards slept.  Men  were  stationed  all  about  in  hiding,  ready 
to  rush  out  as  soon  as  the  wolf  should  appear.  Dust  was 


DOWN  TO  THE  FERRY 


67 


scattered  near  the  several  breaches  in  the  wall,  by  which  the 
wolf  might  escape,  and  a man  was  told  off  at  each  of  these 
breaches  to  guard.  If  the  wolf  escaped  it  would  be  known 
by  the  footprints  in  the  dust  at  which  breach  he  had  got 
out,  and  the  man  responsible  for  letting  the  marauder  escape 
was  to  have  a good  beating  the  next  morning.  Attracted  by 
the  cries  of  the  uncomfortable  pig,  the  wolf  came  over  into 
the  garden  outside  of  the  guests’  room  and  tried  to  get  at  the 
pig.  Then  the  fun  commenced.  Men  with  torches  rushed 
in,  shut  the  garden  gates,  and  chased  the  wolf  all  over  the 
place.  After  much  sport  and  hilarious  laughter,  a spear- 
thrust  ended  the  midnight  raids  of  the  pork-loving  wolf. 

On  Sunday  morning  we  went  out  and  sat  on  the  hill-side, 
gazing  intently  at  the  mountains  of  Nosuland,  and  wonder- 
ing what  we  should  find  there,  if  we  succeeded  in  getting  over 
the  Yangtse  ferry.  The  hills  on  that  side  were  very  like 
the  hills  on  which  we  were  resting,  and  yet  the  faet  that  no 
European  had  ever  been  among  them  invested  them  with 
a romantie  interest,  sueh  as  the  hills  we  were  well  acquainted 
with  did  not  possess.  The  unknown  was  calling  us,  and  we 
longed  to  jump  across  the  gi’eat  valley  and  land  straight 
away  among  the  brave  men  who  had  held  their  own  so  long 
against  all  efforts  to  dislodge  them. 

On  Monday  we  made  a few  final  preparations,  and  on 
Tuesday  started  down  the  long  hill,  to  try  our  luck  at  the 
ferry.  The  evening  before  we  started  a tall  Nosu  lady,  who 
had  relatives  across  the  river,  came  to  see  us,  and  warned 
us  to  beware  of  treachery.  The  lady  said  that  the  hillmen 
were  very  fickle,  and  even  if  we  succeeded  in  getting  among 
them  they  might  at  any  time  turn  right  against  us,  and  hold 
us  to  heavy  ransom  or  sell  us  into  slavery.  On  hearing  this 


68 


DOWN  TO  THE  FERRY 


warning  of  the  tall  Nosu  lady,  those  of  us  who  were  going 
across  held  a council,  to  see  what  should  be  done.  The  con- 
clusion was  reached  that  it  was  well  to  be  armed  and  ready 
for  any  emergency.  I refused  all  offers  of  firearms,  knowing 
that  I had  something  with  me  more  effective  than  any  of  the 
weapons  which  could  have  been  provided  for  me.  I was 
determined  if  possible  to  win  the  friendship  of  these  much- 
feared  people,  and  to  prepare  the  way  for  opening  mission 
work  among  them  later  on.  It  has  often  been  flung  up 
against  missionaries  that  the  soldier  has  prepared  the  way 
for  the  man  with  the  Bible,  and  that  without  the  soldier  the 
missionary  has  no  chance.  This  may  have  been  true  in  some 
cases,  but  on  the  other  hand  there  are  many  places  where 
missionaries  have  lived  for  years  before  other  Europeans 
have  appeared  on  the  scenes.  Among  other  things  I had  a 
telescope  and  a camera,  and  I soon  saw  that  my  companions 
were  determined  that  these  should  take  a share  in  the  defence 
of  the  party.  It  is  not  always  the  weapons  which  one  actu- 
ally possesses,  but  the  weapons  which  one  is  supposed  to 
possess,  which  duly  impress  the  natives.  The  Chinese  col- 
loquial name  for  telescope  is  “ the  thousand-li  glass.”  My 
men  altered  the  last  word  to  “ gmi,”  and  I found  out  later 
on  that  they  told  marvellous  stories  of  what  this  gun  would 
do.  It  would  kill  all  it  could  see,  up  to  a distance  of  a 
thousand  Chinese  miles.  Fortunately  the  gun  never  went 
off,  and  there  never  was  an  occasion  on  which  we  needed 
to  fire  it,  even  in  imagination.  As  to  the  camera,  the  role 
it  was  supposed  to  fill  on  occasions  was  that  of  machine-gun, 
of  marvellous  magic  power,  under  the  direction  of  the  man 
who  retired  beneath  the  daik  cloth.  As  my  companions 
spun  these  yarns  about  the  telescope  and  camera,  I could 


DOWN  TO  THE  FERRY 


69 


easily  see  that  a feeling  of  confidence  was  coming  over  them, 
and  that  they  were  facing  the  dangers  of  the  unknown  with 
comparatively  light  hearts.  They  felt  sure  they  would  be 
able  to  bluff  all  opposition  they  might  run  up  against,  and 
events,  as  they  turned  out,  proved  their  confidence  to  be 
w'ell  founded.  It  was  the  ignorance  and  superstition  of  the 
other  people  that  made  our  weapons  so  powerful.  Had  there 
been  any  souls  brave  enough  to  put  the  terrible  thousand- 
mile  gun  to  the  test,  it  might  have  been  a little  awkward  for 
those  who  put  their  confidence  in  it. 

The  climb  do^\^l  to  the  Yangtse  was  a very  difficult  one. 
Some  of  the  roads  were  covered  with  small  stones,  which 
rolled  about  like  ball-bearings  as  one  trod  on  them.  Ball- 
bearings may  be  fine  for  machinery,  but  they  are  abominably 
uncomfortable  and  somew  hat  dangerous  to  walk  on.  Nearing 
the  banks  of  the  great  river,  w'e  found  large  numbers  of  orange 
and  pepper  trees.  The  pods  of  the  cotton  flower  were  just 
forming,  while  some  of  the  yellow  flowers  w^ere  still  in  bloom. 
The  other  side  of  the  river,  on  the  contrary,  was  covered 
with  rank  jungle,  and  yet  its  very  barrenness  seemed  to  call 
one  with  great  insistence.  A mile  or  two  down  river  we 
came  to  a small  market  town  named  Shin  Chan  Keo — “ The 
Valley  of  the  New  Mine.”  This  is  the  little  town  w’here  is 
the  ferry  wn  wished  to  cross.  On  our  success  at  this  ferry 
hung  the  success  of  the  adventure  we  were  undertaking. 
We  had  to  stay  the  night  at  the  market,  and  hoped  to  get 
across  in  the  morning.  After  dark  the  ferryman  came  to  tell 
us  he  could  not  possibly  take  us  across  in  the  morning,  nor 
indeed  at  any  other  time.  He  had  received  instructions  to 
on  no  account  let  us  cross  over,  and  it  was  as  much  as  his 
position  was  worth  to  disobey  his  instructions.  We  were  up 


70 


DOWN  TO  THE  FERRY 


against  block  number  one,  and  now  things  settled  down 
into  a kind  of  game  of  chess,  in  which  the  men  on  the  board 
were  really  human.  Some  were  prepared  to  play  the  game 
according  to  rules,  but  our  opponents  followed  another  set 
of  rules,  in  which  the  taking  of  life  was  by  no  means  forbidden. 
There  were  one  or  two  men  on  the  market  who  were  deter- 
mined to  prevent  our  entry  into  Nosuland  by  all  means,  fair 
or  foul.  These  men  were  the  leading  men  of  the  place,  and 
one  of  them,  a Mr  Tien,  wielded  a great  amount  of  influence 
in  the  whole  district.  For  some  reason  or  other,  he  hated 
Mr  Long,  and  as  I was  in  Mr  Long’s  company  he  shared  his 
hatred  with  me  also.  We  let  these  men  know  very  clearly 
that  in  the  morning  we  were  going  to  cross  the  Yangtse 
or  we  would  know  from  someone  the  reason  why.  Having 
stated  our  determination  to  win  the  game,  we  resolved  to  do 
what  we  have  so  often  done  in  the  face  of  difliculties,  go  to 
sleep  over  them.  It  makes  your  opponent  feel  very  queer 
when  you  treat  all  his  objections  with  such  coolness  that  you 
can  put  them  aside  and  go  to  sleep.  We  left  the  board  to 
them  and  allowed  them  to  make  what  moves  they  liked, 
feeling  sure  that  in  the  morning  we  could  take  up  the  game 
where  we  left  off,  in  spite  of  what  they  might  do.  Our  con- 
fidence was  overplaced,  for  at  that  time  we  did  not  know 
what  a desperate  lot  of  enemies  we  had  to  deal  with.  They 
were  willing  to  go  to  all  lengths,  even  though  it  might  cost 
the  lives  of  a number  of  innocent  people.  The  plotters  went 
to  scheme,  and  we  to  sleep,  while  the  ferry-boat  remained 
securely  tied  up  to  the  southern  shore,  not  far  from  where 
we  were  sleeping. 


CHAPTER  VI 


WINNING  OUR  FIRST  GAME 

A FEW  days  before  we  reached  the  little  market  town 
where  the  all-important  ferry  was,  H.  E.  Chen,  the 
Defender  of  the  Yangtse  Marches,  had  come  up  from 
his  headquarters  at  Mitieh  on  an  inspection  of  the  southern 
side  of  the  river.  On  arriving  at  Shin  Chan  Keo  he  had 
heard  in  some  way  or  other  that  a foreigner  was  about  to 
make  an  attempt  to  get  into  the  country  of  the  hillmen,  and 
he  at  once  gave  instructions  to  the  keepers  of  the  ferry  that 
they  were  on  no  account  to  allow  this  foreigner  to  get  across 
the  Yangtse.  In  those  last  days  of  Manchu  rule,  mandarins 
had  great  power,  and  could  usually  make  it  extremely  in- 
convenient for  those  who  tried  to  thwart  their  wishes.  It 
must  be  remembered  also  that  all  the  ferries  in  the  district 
are  Government  property,  and  are  usually  farmed  out  to 
those  whose  interest  it  is  to  keep  well  in  with  the  ruling 
powers.  It  can  easily  be  seen  that  the  ferry  farmer  and  his 
helpers  did  not  wish  to  have  any  trouble  with  H.  E.  Chen, 
and  the  coming  on  the  scenes  of  the  foreigner  faced  them 
wdth  a problem  they  did  not  know  how  to  solve  easily. 
It  was  quite  natural,  therefore,  that  they  should  inform  me 
that  they  were  unable  to  take  me  across,  and  do  all  they 
could  to  dissuade  me  from  the  attempt.  They  dwelt  much 
on  the  treacherous  nature  of  the  hill  Nosu,  on  the  possibility 
of  their  killing  us  or  holding  us  to  a heavy  ransom,  and  on 
the  thousand  and  one  unknown  dangers  which  the  Chinese 

71 


72 


WINNING  OUR  FIRST  GAME 


are  only  too  ready  to  imagine  existing  in  a land  which  they 
are  only  very  imperfectly  acquainted  with.  Had  we  believed 
all  these  stories,  and  turned  back,  the  boatmen  would  have 
been  very  pleased,  and  for  long  would  have  laughed  at  the 
Westerner  who  had  come  to  the  ferry  and  turned  cow'ard. 
They  little  knew  that  all  the  uncanny  stories  they  told  had 
the  very  reverse  of  the  desired  effect,  in  that  they  only  made 
us  all  the  more  desirous  of  lifting  the  veil  which  had  for  so 
long  hung  over  this  unknown  part  of  the  Chinese  Empire. 

On  the  market  street  I had  a friend,  a Mr  Lo,  whose  special 
business  was  that  of  arbitrator  in  all  local  disputes  or  quarrels. 
We  had  known  each  other  for  years.  He  also  came  and  tried 
to  dissuade  us  from  our  adventure.  He  of  course  was  afraid 
to  give  Mr  Tien  away,  as  it  would  have  been  dangerous  for 
him  to  offend  such  a powerful  local  man.  He  wanted  to 
know  why  I was  so  anxious  to  go  across,  and  when  I told  him 
that  among  other  things  I hoped  to  tell  the  hillmen  the  story 
which  I believe  is  destined  to  transform  the  world,  he  laughed 
most  heartily.  The  idea  of  these  wildmen  being  able  to 
understand  and  respond  to  the  teachings  of  a missionary 
was  indeed  ridiculous  to  him. 

To  all  entreaties  and  requests  we  had  returned  the  same 
answer — we  intended  to  cross  over  in  the  ferry  in  the  morning. 
It  was  not  until  long  after  that  we  found  out  all  the  plottings 
of  that  night  while  we  were  asleep  at  Shin  Chan  Keo.  Mr 
Tien  was  determined  to  prevent  our  getting  across,  and  was 
willing  to  go  to  any  lengths  in  order  to  achieve  his  purpose. 
It  was  proposed  at  first  to  damage  the  boat  in  the  night,  so 
as  to  render  it  unnavigable  in  the  morning.  It  was  suggested 
that  a plank  or  two  be  knocked  out  of  the  bottom  and  the 
boat  sunk  in  fairly  shallow  water.  This  has  been  done  before 


WINNING  OUR  FIRST  GAME 


73 


now.  The  boat  fanner  was  not  very  keen  on  this  plan,  and 
it  was  not  quite  drastie  enough  to  please  the  man  who  was 
so  bent  on  opposing  us.  Mr  Tien  at  last  unfolded  his  plan, 
and  it  was  really  a diabolieal  plan,  revealing  the  rceklessness 
of  our  enemy.  lie  proposed  that  the  boatmen  should  start 
to  take  our  party  aeross,  and,  when  the  boat  reaehed  the 
really  dangerous  waters  in  midstream,  these  men  should 
jump  over,  with  their  oars,  letting  the  boat  with  its  full  eargo 
drift  down  to  the  terrible  rapids  below.  It  would  have 
reaehed  these  and  been  smashed  up,  drowning,  in  all  prob- 
ability, all  on  board.  There  are  no  red  life-boats  on  these 
upper  reaehes  of  the  river.  Only  one  or  two  of  us  eould 
swim,  but  it  is  no  easy  matter  for  an  expert  swimmer  to  save 
his  life  in  sueh  terrifie  rapids.  In  this  way  Mr  Tien  proposed 
to  stop  the  foreigner  from  lifting  the  veil,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  wreak  his  vengeanee  on  Mr  Long.  What  mattered 
it  to  him  if  a few  lives  were  lost  ? There  was,  however, 
one  obstaele  to  the  earrying  out  of  this  plan,  and  it  was  one 
that  would  never  have  entered  my  mind.  I might  have 
thought  that  Mr  Tien  would  eontemplate  the  diseovery  of 
his  plot  and  of  his  being  held  responsible  for  the  death  of 
an  Englishman,  as  well  as  of  several  Chinese  and  Nosu. 
This,  however,  did  not  seem  to  worry  him  a great  deal. 
He  felt  sure  that  no  one  on  the  market  would  dare  to  give 
him  away,  and  as  all  on  board,  exeept  the  men  in  the  know, 
would  be  drowned,  there  would  be  no  danger  of  being  found 
out.  Possibly,  had  his  plans  been  earried  out  as  he  pro- 
posed, he  would  have  reported  the  terrible  eatastrophe  and 
have  been  one  of  the  loudest  lamenters.  The  obstaele  in 
the  way  had  to  do  with  a seeret  soeiety.  To  understand  the 
position,  one  must  know  that  seeret  soeieties  exist  all  up  and 


74 


WINNING  OUR  FIRST  GAME 


down  tlie  Yangtse  Valley,  and  some  of  them  are  very  power- 
ful. These  societies  are  divided  into  different  “ Palaces  ” or 
“ Hill  Halls,”  and  all  the  members  of  a palace  are  termed 
brethren.  These  societies  are  really  great  brotherhoods, 
taking  their  origin  from  the  scene  in  Chinese  history  where 
three  brave  men  swore  eternal  brotherhood  in  a “ Peach 
Garden.”  One  of  these  men  later  on  became  Emperor  of 
the  Western  Han  dynasty,  and  the  other  two  were  his 
principal  military  commanders.  This  brotherhood  seized 
hold  of  the  imagination  of  the  Chinese,  and  the  adventures 
of  these  famous  three  form  the  groundwork  of  the  principal 
novel  published  in  the  land.  The  novel  is  known  every- 
where. It  has  been  dramatised  into  many  plays,  and  has 
been  acted  in  almost  every  town  and  large  village  throughout 
China,  over  and  over  again.  It  has  had  a profound  influence 
on  the  life  and  aspirations  of  the  people.  Every  now  and 
again  the  Central  Government  tries  to  suppress  the  secret 
societies  or  brotherhoods,  going  so  far  at  times  as  to  make  it 
a capital  crime  to  belong  to  them.  But  all  such  efforts  fail, 
and  will  fail  as  long  as  the  novel.  The  Story  of  the  Three 
Kingdoms,  is  allowed  to  circulate  widely. 

The  members  of  a palace,  or  hill  hall,  will  back  each  other 
up  in  everything,  and  the  leader,  the  “ Great  Gentleman,” 
as  he  is  termed,  wields  great  power  and  can  often  render  even 
official  interference  fruitless. 

Mr  Tien  is  a leader  in  one  of  these  palaces.  Fortunately 
for  our  party  we  had  with  us  a prominent  member  of  another 
palace,  a relative  of  Mr  Long,  and  if  the  boat  were  VTecked, 
and  this  second  palace  leader  were  drowned,  then  Mr  Tien 
knew  that  the  brothers  of  the  second  leader  might  take  dire 
vengeance  if  it  ever  came  out  that  he  had  met  his  death  as  the 


WINNING  OUR  FIRST  GAME 


75 


result  of  I'oul  play.  Mr  Tien  therefore  set  his  wits  to  work 
to  prevent  this  Mr  Teng-Shiao  from  going  across  in  the  same 
boat.  He  felt  pretty  sure  that  he  could  accomplish  this  small 
matter,  and  so  considered  the  matter  of  the  foreigners  getting 
into  Nosuland  as  settled.  Then  the  conspirators  retired  for 
the  rest  of  the  night,  and  possibly  slept  the  sleep  of  men  who 
realise  they  have  aecomplished  something  and  done  a good 
stroke  of  work.  We  were  sleeping  peacefully,  never  dreaming 
that  the  men  who  had  seemed  so  friendly  a few  hours  before 
had  praetieally  eondemned  us  to  a eruel  death. 

Tlie  morning  came  and  we  were  astir  quite  early.  We  were 
all  exeited,  wondering  what  was  going  to  happen.  We  were 
in  all  a party  of  fourteen,  several  of  the  men  being  Nosu  from 
across  the  river.  Three  of  the  latter  rejoiced  in  the  euphoni- 
ous names  of  Choo-mo  lu-ha,  Su-ka  sho-hu,  A-tsu  tu-ta,  names 
very  different  from  those  usually  borne  by  Chinese.  A-tsu 
tu-ta  was  a man  of  resouree,  able  to  get  one  out  of  almost 
any  diffieulty. 

Wliile  we  were  getting  breakfast  and  preparing  for  the 
crossing  which  we  had  announced  the  night  before  was  going 
to  take  plaee,  the  conspirators  were  also  busy.  Their  efforts 
were  now  concentrated  on  thinking  out  some  plan  to  delay 
the  crossing  over  of  the  second  palace  man.  Mr  Tien 
approached  him  and  did  his  best  to  get  him  to  delay  for 
a subsequent  boat,  but  Mr  Teng-Shiao  refused  to  be  separ- 
ated from  the  main  party.  No  amount  of  unostentatious 
manoeuvring  succeeded  in  getting  rid  of  the  man  who  was 
too  powerful  in  brothers  to  be  drowned  by  foul  play.  I had 
not  the  slightest  idea  at  that  time  that  the  young  fellow, 
who  was  known  as  a reckless  wild  blood,  was  of  such  immense 
value  to  all  our  lives.  It  was  the  story  of  the  Cities  of  the 


76 


WINNING  OUR  FIRST  GAME 


Plain  over  again,  only  in  reverse  aetion.  The  presence  of 
one  wild  blood  was  to  save  the  lives  of  a number  of  innocent 
persons.  The  conspirators  were  baffled.  Mr  Tien  did  not 
find  his  plot  working  out  just  as  he  anticipated.  The  subtle 
arranging  of  his  men  whieh  was  to  have  resulted  in  the 
sweeping  off  the  board  of  Queen  and  Bishop  and  a couple  of 
Knights  broke  down  just  at  the  critical  point,  and  checkmate 
seemed  as  far  off  as  ever.  The  plotters  retired  to  reconsider 
the  situation,  and  we  continued  our  preparations.  At  nine 
o’clock  we  left  the  inn  and  walked  some  way  up  the  river- 
bank.  The  boat  was  to  follow  us  up.  It  was  necessary  to 
5?tart  high  up  the  river  so  that  the  boat  should  not  be  swept 
too  far  down  in  the  crossing.  We  had  no  intention,  if  w^e  could 
help  it,  of  making  too  close  an  acquaintance  with  the  great 
rapids,  and  we  did  not  know  then  that  there  were  any  others 
who  were  anxious  that  we  should  do  so.  As  we  walked  along 
we  passed  several  openings  to  an  old  silver  mine  which  years 
ago  had  been  profitably  worked.  We  were  told  that  gases 
met  in  the  mine  had  overcome  and  killed  several  of  the 
miners  and  had  led  to  the  abandonment  of  the  workings. 
The  people  have  no  plan  for  coping  with  these  gases. 

We  waited  on  the  sands  for  the  boat  to  come  up.  The 
conspirators  gave  up  at  last  the  idea  of  wrecking  the  boat, 
and  determined  to  get  their  own  in  another  way.  They 
decided  first  to  send  in  a report  to  the  Defender  of  the 
Marches  that  we  had  taken  charge  of  the  boat  by  force  and 
had  compelled  the  ferry  farmer  to  allow  us  to  cross.  They 
set  to  work  also,  without  delay,  to  make  it  as  uncomfortable 
as  possible  for  us  in  Nosuland  and  to  prevent  us  from  ever 
getting  back  again.  If  we  crossed  the  ferry  once  they  were 
determined  to  prevent  us  from  recrossing  it  on  our  way  back. 


WINNING  OUR  FIRST  GAME 


77 


How  they  plotted  we  shall  see  later  on.  While  waiting  on 
the  sands  we  amused  ourselves  by  throwing  stones  across 
the  river.  As  a rule  the  Chinese  eannot  throw  stones.  You 
can  get  a lot  of  fun  if  you  can  persuade  a party  of  Cliincsc 
teachers  to  start  throwing  stones.  Almost  any  aborigine  little 
girl  can  beat  these  teachers  hollow.  But  the  Nosu  hillmen 
are  great  stone-throwers.  I had  no  chance  whatever  with 
them.  But  I got  my  own  back  and  recovered  a bit  of 
a reputation  when  I started  these  men  jerking.  They  had 
never  done  this  before  and  were  very  awkward  at  the  new 
method. 

Presently  the  ferry-boat  reached  us.  What  were  the  last 
words  Mr  Tien  said  to  the  captain  I do  not  know,  but  I expect 
he  followed  the  usual  custom  and  said  some  very  flowery,  un- 
complimentary words  about  the  ancestors  of  both  Mr  Long 
and  the  English  missionary.  That,  however,  did  not  trouble 
me,  and  I hope  it  gave  no  discomfort  to  my  friend.  We  all 
went  on  board.  We  were  twenty  of  us  and  a calf.  Om* 
horses  we  had  sent  back  as  the  roads  we  w'ere  to  travel  over 
were  not  just  suited  to  horse-riding.  WTien  we  came  to  the 
district  where  horse-riding  was  feasible  we  resolved  to  borrow 
of  the  tribesmen.  At  last ! The  rope  was  gathered  in. 
The  word  was  given  to  push  off.  The  boat  started  on  its 
short  but  fateful  journey  from  Chinese  territory  to  Nosuland, 
where  the  Chinaman  takes  second  place  and  where  the 
mandarin’s  writ  does  not  run.  For  this  latter  fact  we  had 
reason  before  long  to  be  very  thankful  indeed.  After  a long 
sweep  down-stream,  quite  near  enough  to  those  dangerous 
rapids,  we  landed  on  the  other  side.  We  had  won  through. 
In  the  first  long  struggle  with  Mr  Tien  victory  rested  with  us. 
But  he  was  by  no  means  ready  to  give  up  the  struggle,  and 


78 


WINNING  OUR  FIRST  GAME 


hoped  for  better  success  on  the  next  occasion.  Humanly 
speaking,  we  owed  our  lives  to  that  wicked  little  man,  Mr 
Teng-Shiao.  A year  or  two  after  I was  able  to  repay  him. 
He  had  been  more  than  usually  reckless  in  his  carrying  out 
the  plans  of  his  palace,  and  the  prefect  of  Chaotung  was  on  his 
track.  The  prefect  came  over  to  see  me  one  day  to  tell  me 
about  this  man,  and  to  inform  me  that  he  was  going  to  cut 
his  head  off  as  soon  as  he  got  him.  The  prefect  knew  that  I 
was  friendly  with  this  man,  and  had  come  across  to  talk  the 
matter  over.  Mr  Teng-Shiao  was  not  caught,  and  his  head 
was  very  firmly  on  his  shoulders  when  I last  heard  about 
him.  The  revolution  in  China  caused  many  reverses  in 
fortune,  and  startlingly  changed  the  outlook  of  the  man  whose 
presence  saved  our  lives  when  we  were  crossing  the  ferry. 
Some  time  after  I had  finished  my  adventure  in  Nosuland 
this  young  fellow  gathered  together  a number  of  large  coffin 
boards  and  took  them  down  to  Suifu,  the  first  great  mart  on 
the  Yangtse.  On  this  consignment  of  boards  he  made  a 
profit  of  three  hundred  taels  of  silver.  He  spent  several 
months  at  this  place  and  came  back  empty-handed.  Nearly 
all  the  money  had  been  spent  in  learning  from  a famous  boxer 
the  art  of  boxing  according  to  Chinese  rules.  My  friend 
proved  to  be  very  proficient  in  mastering  this  art.  When 
the  revolution  was  over  he  entered  the  military  school  at 
Yunnan  Fu,  and  is  now  in  training  for  an  officer  in  the  army. 
His  fame  as  a boxer  soon  became  known  throughout  the 
schools  of  the  city,  and  the  military  governor  has  taken  a 
great  interest  in  him.  One  day  the  governor  brought  a 
French  officer  with  him  to  have  a round  with  Mr  Teng-Shiao. 
For  an  hour  the  tall  Frenchman  and  the  wily  short  Nosu 
fought  round  after  round,  and  at  the  end  of  an  hour  the 


WINNING  OUR  FIRST  GAME 


79 


contest  was  proclaimed  drawn.  What  will  be  the  future 
career  of  this  man  I cannot  guess.  I only  know  that  I 
and  others  are  very  glad  his  presence  on  our  boat  saved 
us  from  a terrible  end  in  the  furious  rapids  of  Shin  Chan 
Keo. 


CHAPTER  VII 


LIFTING  THE  VEIL 


S we  stepped  ashore  I remembered  that  I was  a 


missionary,  and  being  sueh  the  first  thing  I did  was 


to  take  off  my  hat  and  pray  that  peaee  and  salvation 
might  come  to  the  land  where  dwell  the  people  so  despised 
by  the  Chinese. 

The  cliffs  on  both  sides  of  the  river  are  here  of  red  sand- 
stone and  the  soil  on  both  banks  was  similar.  The  hills 
had  the  same  formations  and  the  climate  was  identical. 
And  yet  everything  seemed  changed.  One’s  feet  in  Nosu- 
land  seemed  to  tread  more  lightly  than  in  purely  Chinese 
territory.  It  was  almost  as  if  one’s  furlough  had  become 
due  and  one  had  said  good-bye  to  China  and  started  for 
European  scenes  once  more.  What  that  means  only  the 
man  who  has  lived  for  ten  years  or  more  on  end  in  Eastern 
comitries  can  realise.  The  air  we  breathed  seemed  purer. 
The  whole  atmosphere  was  changed.  I remember  how  on 
another  occasion  I had  the  same  feeling.  It  was  when  I left 
Russia  to  enter  Germany.  In  the  former  country  one’s 
passport  had  to  be  in  evidence  everywhere,  and  whatever 
you  did  or  wherever  you  went  you  felt  that  a power  not  very 
friendly  to  travellers  had  you  in  sight.  It  reminded  one  of 
the  old  prints  one  saw  so  frequently  in  the  mid-Victorian 
era,  with  a single  eye  staring  at  one  from  the  top  of  the  picture. 
However  interesting  the  print,  there  was  that  piercing  single 


8o 


Swii'T  Watkrs  ok  Tiiii  Vkuy  Ui'iER  Vancise 
Sugar-cane  I'lckls  are  in  the  foreground. 


LIFTING  THE  VEIL 


81 


eye  over  all,  looking  at  one  and  giving  one  a peeuliar  feeling 
of  unrest  and  diseomfort.  So  it  was  in  Russia.  But  when 
the  borders  were  passed  and  the  German  train  was  entered, 
one  [felt  that  one  was  in  a free  eountry,  where  modern  ideas 
prevailed  and  where  one  was  at  liberty  to  talk  and  think  as 
one  pleased  on  almost  any  subjeet. 

Here  we  were  at  last  in  unknown  Nosuland,  the  bogey  land 
of  the  Western  Chinese,  the  surprise  land  of  West  China, 
whose  inhabitants  are  praetieally  independent,  where  there 
are  no  Buddliist  temples,  no  debasing  Temples  of  Hades 
easting  a gloom  over  the  thought  of  all  the  people,  no  women 
with  deformed  feet,  no  infantieide  of  unweleome  baby  girls, 
no  overpowering  mandarins  with  their  retinue  of  unserupulous 
squeezing  underlings.  We  were  in  a new  eountry  as  different 
from  the  provinee  of  Yunnan  as  Norway  is  from  Russia  or 
the  highlands  of  Seotland  are  from  the  Blaek  Country. 

The  first  few  miles  we  travelled  in  Nosuland  lay  tlirough  a 
kind  of  debatable  no-man’s-land,  where  several  tribes  have 
fought  their  inter-tribal  battles  and  where  small  parties  of 
unarmed  travellers  are  exposed  to  sudden  attaek  from  robbers 
who  ean  hide  themselves  seeurely  in  the  tall  jungle.  We 
therefore  stopped  for  a while  and  held  eouneil  of  war.  Guns 
were  all  loaded,  and  Chief  Long  gave  striet  instruetions  that 
we  were  to  keep  elose  together.  If  the  party  straggled,  the 
devil,  in  the  person  of  hidden  robbers,  was  likely  to  take  the 
hindmost.  Chief  Long  put  eight  cartridges  into  his  Win- 
chester rifle.  His  cousin  asked  permission  to  carry  the 
telescope,  and  as  he  went  along  I heard  him  telling  some  of 
the  Nosu  who  were  with  us  that  there  were  twenty  cartridges 
in  his  wonderful  thousand-mile  gun,  able  to  work  terrible 
destruction  if  it  became  necessary. 

F 


82 


LIFTING  THE  VEIL 


We  had  not  gone  very  far  before  our  party  began  to  whoop 
a Nosu  war-whoop.  The  sound  was  of  great  voliune,  and 
had  it  suddenly  biu*st  out  during  the  night  on  the  peaceful 
sleepers  of  a Chinese  village  one  can  easily  imagine  how 
startled  and  frightened  the  people  there  would  be.  The 
whoop  of  our  men  was  soon  answered  from  some  of  the  hills 
near  by.  A party  of  hillmen  had  been  bringing  great  coffin 
boards  from  the  interior  and  as  they  were  climbing  the  hill 
on  their  return  journey  they  answered  the  shout  of  our  men. 
I was  told  that  different  clans  have  different  whoops,  and 
that  messages  are  conveyed  by  means  of  these  hill  shouts. 
Sometimes  a keen  note  of  derision  is  put  into  the  whoop. 
All  the  Orientals  are  past  masters  in  deriding  or  cursing  an 
adversary. 

The  no-man’s-land  we  passed  through  was  covered  with 
long  jungle  grass  as  tall  as  one’s  neck.  There  was  not  a sign 
of  cultivation  anywhere.  Formerly  on  this  land  there  dwelt 
foiu-  thousand  Chinese  families,  and  we  were  shown  a site 
where  there  used  to  be  held  a very  busy  market.  Cotton, 
sugar-cane,  sweet  potatoes,  etc.,  were  largely  cultivated. 
Later  on  there  was  a quarrel  between  two  Nosu  chiefs  in  the 
neighbourhood  and  constant  fights  between  the  two.  In 
their  long  quarrel  they  cleared  out  all  the  Chinese,  driving 
them  across  the  river.  It  seemed  a great  pity  that  such  a 
great  stretch  of  valuable  land  should  lie  waste  when  south  of 
the  river  there  were  multitudes  of  people  who  with  great 
difficulty  managed  to  get  enough  to  keep  body  and  soul 
together. 

We  were  considerably  troubled  by  a kind  of  grass  which 
has  a barbed  spike  on  it.  These  little  spikes  work  their  way 
through  any  clothing  and  enter  the  flesh  almost  as  if  they 


LIFTING  THE  VEIL 


83 


were  insects.  As  they  enter  the  flesh  they  act  like  fish-hooks, 
and  are  pulled  out  with  difficulty.  One  of  these  thorns 
entered  the  arm  of  one  of  the  men.  After  he  had  extracted 
it  he  wished  to  show  his  anger  to  the  thorn  and  proceeded  to 
bite  it  in  two.  But  in  this  angry  process  he  came  off  second 
best,  for  the  thorn  entered  his  tongue  and  gave  him  a lot  of 
pain.  It  was  at  last  extracted  with  a pair  of  small  tweezers 
I had  in  my  pocket-knife. 

As  we  travelled  along,  all  on  the  qui  vive,  Mr  Long  described 
how  robbers  quiet  any  man  they  may  succeed  in  capturing. 
To  prevent  his  calling  out  to  any  companions  who  may  be 
near  they  thrust  a stone  into  his  mouth,  and  tie  this  around 
w’ith  a girdle.  Tlie  gag  is  most  effective.  After  a few  miles 
we  left  the  debatable  land  which  lay  by  the  Yangtse,  and, 
turning  to  the  right,  went  inland.  For  some  distance  we 
followed  the  course  of  a silvery  stream.  The  waters  were 
sparkling  and  very  beautiful,  but  the  road  was  execrable. 
Sometimes  it  was  just  a few  ledges  cut  in  the  face  of  a rock. 
At  other  times  it  was  a big  log  placed  against  a rock.  By 
means  of  a few  notches  cut  in  the  log  we  had  to  climb  up. 
Again  rough  trees  were  stretched  from  ledge  to  ledge  in  a cliff, 
and  over  these  we  had  to  climb.  We  felt  very  glad  that  we 
had  not  brought  our  horses,  for  they  could  never  have  faced 
the  roads  we  walked  or  climbed  over — not  that  these  horses 
are  not  able  to  face  rough  roads.  I have  a pony  now  which 
will  face  almost  anything  that  one  finds  on  the  rough  roads 
of  China.  Places  that  I walk  over  with  difiiculty  he  will  carry 
me  over  without  a shake  or  a refusal.  Sometimes  he  seems 
as  if  he  were  half  goat.  I have  known  him  go  up  a cliff 
that  I had  to  negotiate  in  some  places  on  all-fours.  But  tree- 
climbing is  too  much  for  even  an  old,  well-tried,  clever  horse. 


84 


LIFTING  THE  VEIL 


When  crossing  the  stream  on  one  occasion  one  of  the  men 
fell  into  the  water  and  got  a thorough  soaking.  As  soon  as 
we  reached  the  other  side  we  made  a huge  fire  of  brushwood, 
so  that  the  wet  man  could  dry  his  clothes  before  we  proceeded 
on  our  journey. 

Travelling  along,  we  passed  a munber  of  olive-trees  with 
fruit  in  rich  profusion.  Many  of  the  Chinese  are  very  fond 
of  this  fruit.  It  is  som  when  first  tasted,  but  the  flavour  soon 
turns  to  a very  agreeable  sweetness. 

After  we  had  passed  through  the  valley,  where  the  stream 
with  the  silvery  waters  dashed  and  roared  in  its  anxiety  to 
reach  the  Yangtse,  we  came  to  an  open  clearing  where  a 
Chinese  was  growing  a lot  of  fine  sugar-cane.  This  farmer  is 
a tenant  of  one  of  the  Nosu  landlords,  and  has  managed  to 
make  himself  liked  by  most  of  the  hillmen.  The  red  sugar- 
canes  which  he  cultivates  find  a ready  market,  and  are  much 
more  prized  than  the  green  canes  which  are  usually  seen  in 
the  West  China  sugar  plantations.  The  young  sprouts  at 
the  tops  of  the  canes  are  used  to  feed  cattle,  and  oxen  and 
buffaloes  are  very  fond  of  them.  The  large  buffaloes  which 
draw  up  the  brine  from  the  famous  wells  in  Tzi  Liu  Ching,  the 
most  famous  salt  centre  in  the  whole  of  China,  are  largely  fed 
on  these  sugar-tops.  The  liking  for  these  is  not  confined  to 
domestic  animals  only.  One  day  some  wild  boars  got  into 
Mr  Yang’s  plantation,  which  we  had  just  reached.  The  boars 
began  ravenously  to  eat  up  the  cane,  and  the  owner  and  his 
men  went  out  to  see  what  the  truoble  was.  The  first  animal 
they  clearly  saw  they  took  for  an  ox.  Yang  worked  his 
way  through  the  canes,  intending  to  coax  the  animal  up  to 
his  house  to  await  the  inquiry  of  the  owner.  But  on  getting 
near  the  creatme  he  saw  it  was  an  enormous  old  wild  boar. 


LIFTING  THE  VEIL 


85 


lie  shot  it,  and  between  them  they  gave  it  the  coup  dc  grace. 
It  turned  out  to  be  the  largest  boar  they  had  ever  seen  in 
those  parts,  and  weighed  several  hundred  pounds.  It  was  a 
regular  old  warrior.  Where  it  had  seratched  its  back  against 
some  fir-trees  they  compared  and  found  it  was  as  high  as  a 
man’s  shoulders. 

We  were  very  interested  in  the  sugar-cane  grown  by  Mr 
Yang,  but  we  soon  found  something  to  interest  us  still  more. 
It  was  he  who  told  us  the  startling  piece  of  news  mentioned 
in  Chapter  I.  From  him  we  learned  that  messengers  had 
already  been  sent  across  the  river  to  arrange  with  the 
tribesmen  for  the  murder  of  the  Englishman  and  his  chief 
companion.  He  told  us  further  that  the  place  where  the 
attack  might  be  made  on  our  party  was  a little  farther  on  in 
the  valley  where  he  was  living,  and  that  the  Nosu  chief  who 
had  been  chosen  to  commit  the  deed  had  already  come  down 
to  the  valley.  This  startling  news  made  us  feel  uncomfort- 
able, and  we  wondered  for  a while  what  we  should  do.  After 
all,  we  thought  the  story  might  not  be  true,  and  that  it  might 
only  be  an  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  Chinaman  to  frighten 
us  baek  from  our  endeavour  to  lift  the  veil  from  the  unknown. 
Had  we  turned  back  and  appeared  at  that  famous  ferry  on 
that  same  day,  how  Mr  Tien  would  have  laughed  and  ridiculed 
us  ! We  were  not  going  to  give  him  that  satisfaction  if  we 
could  possibly  help  it.  We  determined  to  push  on  and  risk 
it.  We  had  won  in  one  game  and  we  might  win  in  th 
next. 

The  farther  we  went  the  more  the  valley  opened  out,  and 
at  last  we  came  to  a stretch  where  were  a lot  of  ricefields. 
The  rice  had  been  gathered  in  but  the  stalks  were  still  stand- 
ing. Only  the  ears  had  been  cut  off.  In  China  every  stalk 


86 


LIFTING  THE  VEIL 


is  gathered  and  used  as  fodder  for  the  cattle,  or  in  the  making 
of  the  straw  mats  which  are  used  on  the  beds  of  the  people 
all  over  the  coimtry.  As  fodder  for  cattle  the  Nosu  hillmen 
prefer  the  wild  grass  of  the  hills,  and  as  a bed-mat  is  a luxury 
these  men  do  not  indulge  in,  the  rice  straw  is  ploughed  into 
the  fields  again. 

Near  the  ricefields  were  a few  houses,  where  dwelt  the 
cultivators  of  these  fields,  A rough  wall  surrounded  the 
houses,  evidently  as  a defence  against  attack.  On  the  wall 
sat  a couple  of  Nosu  with  their  long  felt  capes  on,  and  as 
they  caught  sight  of  me  they  bmst  into  laughter.  My  black 
English  suit  was  a never-ending  source  of  amusement  to 
the  tribes-people.  They  had  never  seen  a human  being  so 
dressed  before.  The  nearest  approach  to  such  a dressed 
being  was  the  black  bear,  which  is  very  common  among  these 
hills.  Again  and  again  the  people  brnst  out  with  the  cry : 
“ A man  black  bear.”  One  hunter  told  me  one  day  that 
had  he  suddenly  come  across  me  in  the  woods  he  would  un- 
hesitatingly have  shot  me  for  a bear.  I am  very  glad  the 
constant  presence  of  friends  prevented  such  a catastrophe. 
When  talking  it  over  one  night  I could  not  help  remarking 
that  it  would  have  been  a great  take-in  for  us  both.  To  the 
hunter  who  shot  the  man  for  a bear  the  layer  after  layer  of 
garments  would  have  been  a surprising  revelation.  It  was 
something  to  my  advantage  that  my  appearance  always 
provoked  hearty  laughter.  A man  who  laughs  heartily  at 
you  cannot  get  very  angry  with  you,  try  he  never  so  hard. 
More  than  one  good  story  has  been  told  of  how  foreigners  in 
China  have  saved  their  lives  by  being  able  to  provoke  a merry 
laugh  in  those  who  were  going  to  attack  them.  All  the  time 
we  were  in  Nosuland  good  humour  and  laughter  were  the 


LIFTING  THE  VEIL 


87 


order  of  the  day.  I determined,  if  possible,  to  like  everything, 
and  to  be  as  friendly  as  they  would  let  me  with  everybody. 
In  fact  it  was  a jolly  holiday  all  round,  with  no  ill  humour 
between  hosts  and  guest  all  the  time.  We  many  times  forgot 
that  Mr  Tien  and  the  Defender  of  the  Marches  existed. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


THE  FIRST  STOP  IN  NOSULAND 

At  the  end  of  the  first  day  we  stayed  in  a small  farm- 
stead where  lived  a Chinese  tenant  of  one  of  the  Nosu 
landlords.  A mud  wall  surrounded  the  buildings,  and 
an  adobe  tower  spoke  of  risk  and  danger.  The  tenant,  a Mr 
Liu,  told  us  that  his  people  had  for  six  generations  lived  in 
the  land  of  the  Nosu  and  that  they  used  to  be  better  off  than 
they  are  now.  We  all  slept  in  a small  room  on  the  mud  floor. 
Here  we  were  immediately  up  against  the  primitive  customs 
of  the  people  of  this  land.  We  found  a delightful  lack  of 
furniture  everywhere.  There  were  no  chairs,  no  tables,  no 
forms,  no  beds.  It  was  the  simple  life  with  a vengeance. 
Everybody  sat  on  the  floor.  For  the  older  folks  and  guests 
nearly  every  house  provides  skins  of  the  black  bear.  Sitting 
on  these  was  a little  better  than  sitting  on  the  mud  floor,  but 
the  skins  got  very  hard  after  a while.  After  a few  hours  of 
this  kind  of  sitting  one’s  legs  ached  very  much.  I carried 
with  me  a small  Chinese-made  folding-chair,  weighing  three 
or  four  pounds,  and  it  was  a great  relief  to  have  this  to  sit 
on  at  times.  To  those  who  knew  how,  it  was  very  easy  to 
open  or  fold  up  this  little  chair,  but  those  mountain  folk  found 
it  very  difficult  to  understand  the  simple  mechanism  that 
guided  the  opening  and  shutting.  There  was  no  end  of  fun 
with  this  little  chair,  and  as  every  now  and  again  it  collapsed 
when  not  properly  fixed,  the  onlookers  roared  with  laughter 
as  some  adventurous  young  fellow  for  the  first  and  possibly 

88 


TIIE  FIRST  STOP  IN  NOSULAND  89 

the  last  time  in  his  life  tried  what  it  was  like  to  sit  on  a chair. 
When  one  thinks  of  these  people  one  is  reminded  of  the  ad- 
vertisements which  appear  so  frequently  in  the  papers  that 
find  their  way  to  this  part  of  West  China,  where  “’Varsity” 
and  other  kinds  of  chairs  of  all  sizes  and  stages  of  comforts 
are  pressed  on  the  attention  of  the  young  men  of  England 
who  will  soon  bear  the  burden  of  empire.  We  often  grumble 
at  the  great  burdens  the  white  young  men  have  to  bear, 
but  I fancy  a return  to  something  of  the  simplicity  of  many 
of  the  Oriental  peoples  would  be  a great  advantage  all 
round. 

The  lack  of  beds  and  bedding  was  very  striking.  In  some 
of  the  larger  houses  we  entered  we  found  that  at  one  end 

o 

of  the  long  room  composing  the  house  there  was  a corner 
screened  off,  and  here  was  a rough  bedstead  where  slept  the 
heads  of  the  household.  The  majority,  however,  slept  aroimd 
the  wood  fire,  with  feet  facing  the  warmth.  When  a large 
number  of  them  were  thus  sleeping  they  looked  very  like  a 
huge  cart-wheel,  with  the  fire  as  the  nave  of  the  axle.  Men 
and  women  all  slept  around  the  fire,  dressed  as  they  were  in 
the  daytime,  covered  by  their  felt  cloaks  if  they  possessed 
such,  and  uncovered  if  they  had  none.  Apparently  they 
slept  well. 

These  people  scorn  the  Chinese  because  they  are  so  effem- 
inate and  must  have  comfort  before  they  can  get  on.  I do  not 
know  what  they  thought  of  me.  I usually  managed  to  get 
some  straw  on  the  floor  and  rolled  myself  up  in  my  wadded 
quilt,  the  ordinary  Chinese  “ pukai.”  Mr  Long  and  I often 
lay  in  our  pukais  after  the  others  had  got  up,  and  yarned  away 
about  many  things.  Just  near  to  where  I was  sleeping  the 
first  night  was  a large  basket,  in  which  rested  some  of  the  fowls 


90  THE  FIRST  STOP  IN  NOSULAND 


of  the  household.  These  fowls  that  sleep  indoors  are  often 
a great  nuisance  to  tired  travellers.  How  mad  they  make 
one  feel  sometimes ! When  travelling  off  the  main  roads  in 
China  one  has  often  to  put  up  with  the  poorest  accommoda- 
tion, and  more  than  once,  when  too  late  to  remedy  matters, 
I have  discovered  that  cocks  and  hens  were  all  sleeping  under 
my  bed.  What  a mistake  it  is  to  imagine  that  cocks  crow 
at  dawn.  I wish  they  did.  Sometimes  they  seem  to  be 
studying  the  time-sheets  of  the  principal  ports  of  the  world 
and  srtart  crowing  at  what  is  daybreak  in  those  places.  I 
have  known  one  cock  in  West  China  start  crowing  when  it  is 
daybreak  in  Chicago,  and  then  he  kept  on  heralding  dawn  in 
all  the  principal  places  west  of  that  city  until  at  last  he  greeted 
the  dawn  of  his  native  place.  Nothing  is  more  irritating 
than  to  be  dreaming  pleasantly  after  a hard  and  tiring  day’s 
journey  and  to  be  suddenly  woke  up  by  the  thunderous  roar 
of  an  old  practised  rooster,  who  is  sleeping  right  under  one’s 
bed.  You  feel  so  jolly  bad,  and  wish  that  you  had  not  left 
your  stick  in  the  other  corner  of  the  room ! At  last  you  get 
some  kind  of  a weapon  and  make  the  best  dash  you  can  at 
the  midnight  reveller,  only  to  find  that  he  is  safely  sheltered 
in  a coop  under  the  centre  of  the  bed.  You  cannot  get  at 
him,  do  what  you  like.  But  you  may  disturb  his  song  for  a 
while,  and  then  off  you  go  to  sleep  until  the  sun  is  about  to 
shine  on  San  Francisco,  and  then  there  is  the  earthquake 
and  thunder  and  lightning  all  over  again.  At  last  you  give 
it  up  and  wish  very  much  that  they  would  kill  that  fowl 
on  the  morrow  and  give  you  the  privilege  of  crowng  over 
him  and  eating  him.  Y ou  resolve  ever  after  never  to  grumble 
at  the  tough  old  roosters  that  fall  to  your  lot  at  so  many 
evening  meals  in  China,  and  make  up  your  mind  that  you 


TIIE  FIRST  STOP  IN  NOSULAND  91 


will  chuckle  over  and  bite  well  every  one  that  comes  your 
way  as  one  less  disturber  of  midnight  di’cams  left  in  the 
world. 

By-and-by  Mr  Long  and  I got  up,  and  sat  down  under  a 
big  mat  by  the  side  of  the  fire.  A lot  of  peppercorns  were 
drying  on  the  mat  over  the  fire,  and  we  had  to  get  under  it 
before  we  eould  get  near  the  warmth.  Not  long  before  we 
arrived  two  leopards  had  attacked  two  cows  belonging  to 
Mr  Liu  while  they  were  grazing  on  the  hill-side.  The 
men  pursued  and  killed  one  on  the  spot,  but  the  other 
got  off. 

We  had  intended  to  leave  this  place  early  in  the  morn- 
ing, going  about  ten  miles  before  breakfast.  This  plan, 
however,  was  stopped  by  the  appearance  of  a Nosu  chief,  who 
insisted  on  detaining  us.  This  was  the  man  whom  Chen, 
the  warden  of  the  Marches,  had  attempted  to  persuade  to 
kill  us  if  we  persisted  in  crossing  the  Yangtse.  Here  was  the 
suggested  murderer  at  last.  The  Nosu  chief  looked  wild 
enough  to  be  the  hero  of  any  tragedy.  I found  out  afterwards 
that  he  has  done  a few  shady  transaetions  in  his  life,  and 
H.  E.  Chen’s  emissaries  had  ehosen  the  right  man  when  they 
tried  to  persuade  Vri-ha  to  do  their  diabolical  work.  As  far 
as  we  could  see,  this  chief  in  detaining  us  had  no  ulterior 
motive.  As  soon  as  he  got  in  toueh  with  our  party  he  deter- 
mined not  to  earry  out  the  wishes  of  the  Chinese,  for  the 
present,  at  any  rate.  The  detaining  of  us  was  merely  that  we 
might  have  breakfast  at  the  chief’s  expense  before  we  con- 
tinued our  journey.  We  soon  got  very  friendly,  and  before 
long  the  strong,  well-built  man  was  giving  me  a whole  list  of 
Nosu  words  to  write  in  my  notebook.  With  Mr  Long  as 
interpreter  and  go-between,  it  was  fairly  easy  to  get  hold  of 


92  THE  FIRST  STOP  IN  NOSULAND 


a vocabulary.  A few  words  go  a long  way  at  such  times, 
and  even  blunders  in  the  new  speech  only  added  to  the  fun 
of  it  all.  If  those  who  heard  me  did  not  feel  offended  at  the 
funny  mistakes  I made  when  I tried  to  speak  a few  words  to 
them,  I am  sure  I did  not  mind  their  hearty  laughter.  It 
was  as  much  fun  to  me  as  it  was  to  them.  At  such  times  one 
can  always  get  his  own  back  by  trying  to  get  them  to  pro- 
nounce a few  English  words. 

A small  iron  puzzle,  a couple  of  corks  and  two  small  clock- 
work figures  were  my  stock  in  trade  when  I wished  to  put  the 
people  into  a good  humour.  One  of  the  figures  was  a fiddler, 
and  the  other  an  old-fashioned  Chinese  soldier  brandishing  a 
sword  in  one  hand  and  a spear  in  the  other.  The  fame  of 
these  two  figures  preceded  me  wherever  I went,  and  every- 
body demanded  a performance  of  the  marionettes.  When 
a crowd  of  men  and  women  squatted  down  and  gave  them- 
selves up  to  a few  minutes  of  excitement  as  the  figures  moved 
about  in  the  little  tray  that  was  the  theatre  of  their  exploits, 
one  thought  at  once  it  was  a scene  from  Brobdingnag,  where  a 
group  of  giants  were  watching  the  movements  of  a pair  of 
Gullivers.  The  hillmen  evidently  thought  there  was  some 
life  in  the  little  figures.  Sometimes,  when  I was  tired  of  the 
constant  excitement,  I used  to  let  my  “ boy  ” manage  the 
show,  while  I went  off  for  a stroll. 

I took  with  me  a few  prettily  dressed  dollies,  hoping  to 
win  the  affection  of  some  of  the  little  girls  of  Nosuland  by 
giving  them  these.  But,  to  my  great  surprise,  I could  not  give 
away  a single  one  of  these  dolls.  Here  and  there  the  children 
looked  longingly,  and  one  day  a little  girl  was  brave  enough 
to  take  a doll  from  the  visitor,  but  before  many  minutes  were 
passed  the  mother  brought  the  doll  back  again,  and  I had  to 


THE  FIRST  STOP  IN  NOSULAND  93 


take  it  away  with  me.  I was  much  taken  aback  at  this  and 
wondered  what  the  reason  of  this  conduct  was.  In  other 
places  I have  known  even  women  go  wild  over  a pair  of  dolls. 
Two  that  I had  with  me  once  were  worn  to  pieces  with  constant 
nursing  and  curious  pulling  about.  I remember  one  night 
a little  girl  begging  me  to  let  her  take  the  doll  home  to  bed 
with  her  just  for  the  one  night.  She  brought  it  back  safely 
the  next  morn,  glad  of  even  one  night’s  friendship  with  one 
of  Santa  Claus’  most  popular  gifts. 

I found  out  after  a while  that  the  fear  of  the  doll  was  the 
fear  of  witchcraft.  When  there  is  illness  about,  especially 
when  the  disease  is  contagious,  the  wizard  is  called  in,  and  he 
makes  a kind  of  doll  of  straw,  etc.,  and  into  this  doll  he 
charms  the  demon  of  the  disease.  The  straw  figure  is  then 
taken  out  and  placed  by  the  roadside.  Before  long  the  demon 
is  supposed  to  pass  into  some  one  or  other  of  the  passers-by, 
and  in  that  case  the  person  originally  ill  recovers  rapidly. 
It  was  the  fear  of  the  wizard’s  straw  figure  that  made  my 
prettily  dressed  dollies  so  unpopular.  I suppose  down  in 
the  hearts  of  some  of  the  people  there  was  the  fear  that  I 
was  some  powerful  medicine  man  who  could  bewitch  with  the 
little  figures  in  scarlet  and  blue.  Fancy  a land  where  the 
little  girls  are  afraid  to  play  with  a doll ! Surely  there  cannot 
be  another  such  land  anywhere  about.  One  can  see  by  this 
incident  that  any  missionary  in  Nosuland  would  have  to 
reckon  on  possible  opposition  from  the  all-powerful  wizard 
class.  I would  risk  it  all  gladly  to  win  the  little  girls  and 
deliver  them  from  such  an  unnatural  fear. 

Wliile  we  were  enjoying  ourselves  with  the  moving  figures 
the  chief’s  men  had  been  preparing  breakfast.  At  nine  a.m. 
one  of  his  slaves  came  in  leading  a fine  goat  by  a string,  and 


94  THE  FIRST  STOP  IN  NOSULAND 


at  eleven  we  were  all  making  a hearty  meal  off  the  flesh  of  this 
goat.  To  one  at  home  who  goes  to  a shop  for  all  his  meat, 
and  usually  likes  it  to  hang  a day  or  two  (let  alone  a 
month  or  two)  before  it  is  eaten,  it  seemed  strange  to 
see  a goat  or  a pig  alive  at  the  beginning  of  one  hour  and 
all  cooked  and  eaten  by  the  end  of  the  second  hour.  They 
do  a few  things  quicker  in  the  East  than  they  do  in  the 
West. 

Under  the  influence  of  the  hearty  meal  we  all  got  very 
friendly  and  chummy.  The  chief  Vri-ha,  who  had  prepared 
breakfast  for  us,  apologised  for  not  coming  to  meet  us  the 
day  before.  Had  he  known,  so  he  said,  he  would  have  brought 
seven  hundred  men  to  escort  us.  We  might  have  been 
captured  by  robbers  in  that  silvery  stream  valley,  and  then 
he  would  have  been  very  much  ashamed.  I suggested  it 
was  better  not  to  have  had  the  seven  hundred  men, 
as  in  that  case  the  Chinese  might  have  really  believed 
that  the  foreign  visitor  had  come  across  with  political 
designs. 

Soon  after  those  of  us  who  had  come  across  the  river  sang 
a couple  of  Chinese  hymns.  Our  audience  was  as  wise  at 
the  end  of  the  singing  as  they  were  at  the  beginning.  So  we 
set  to  work  to  try  and  translate  one  of  the  hymns  into  Nosu. 
Vri-ha  helped  us.  It  was  most  interesting  to  see  this  strong 
wildman,  who  had  been  enticed  to  become  our  deadly  enemy, 
helping  to  translate  one  of  the  Christian  hymns  into  his  own 
language.  I do  not  know  what  he  thought  of  it  all.  When 
we  sang  the  translated  verses  in  Nosu  there  was  great  fun 
and  laughter.  There  was  not  much  reverence  shown  by  any 
of  the  people.  But  that  did  not  worry  us  in  the  least  at  that 
early  stage.  We  wanted  everybody,  if  possible,  to  feel  friendly 


THE  FIRST  STOP  IN  NOSULAND  95 


and  jolly  with  the  visitor,  and  we  knew  in  such  a case  they 
could  not  think  unkindly  of  any  part  of  the  visitor’s  message. 
It  was  fun  and  friendship  with  them,  and  if  the  missionary’s 
message  could  reach  these  hillmen’s  hearts  in  that  way  I 
think  the  method  a great  improvement  on  some  earlier  and 
rougher  methods  of  propagation.  I do  not  for  a moment 
think  laughter  and  joy  and  high  spirits  and  a lot  of  fun 
with  the  children  are  out  of  place  in  a missionary’s 
work. 

So  the  first  morning  passed  away,  and  then  we  started  off 
again  still  farther  into  Nosuland.  The  veil  was  very  slowly 
lifted,  and  there  was  not  much  mystery  after  all. 


CHAPTER  IX 


MARRIAGE  PROPOSALS  AND  THE  WATER-SUPPLY 

WE  had  not  gone  very  far  on  our  day’s  journey 
before  Mr  Long  discovered  that  he  had  left  his 
large  sun-hat  behind.  Then  our  men  began 
shouting  back  to  some  men  on  a ridge  opposite,  asking 
them  to  shout  the  news  to  others,  so  that  the  hat  might 
be  brought  up.  While  we  were  waiting  I took  a photo  of 
the  group,  with  the  missionary  holding  the  hand  of  the 
chief  who  was  asked  to  kill  him.  We  were  already  getting 
quite  chummy,  moving  on  towards  the  romantic  plot  which 
was  to  make  the  Britisher  and  the  Nosu  relatives  and 
friends  for  life,  if  the  plot  had  only  come  off. 

Those  travelling  with  me  gave  out  that  I was  a Nosu  like 
they  were,  and  that  I had  come  across  to  see  how  my  brethren 
were  and  to  bring  them  some  wonderful  news  which  liad 
already  transformed  a great  part  of  the  world  and  made  it 
possible  for  men  to  dream  of  the  day  when  all  will  be  brethren 
and  the  “ whole  world  under  heaven  one  family.”  The 
people  knew  at  once  that  I was  not  Chinese,  and  therefore  I 
must  be  Nosu.  When  they  also  heard  that  my  wife  had 
“ big  ” feet,  and  wore  a long  skirt,  there  was  no  further  doubt 
about  the  matter.  A man  whose  wife  has  big  feet  and  wears 
long  skirts  could  not  but  be  a Nosu,  and  so  I was  admitted 
into  the  ranks  at  once  and  was  treated  as  a real  “ black  ”- 
ranked  hillman.  As  to  the  size  of  the  feet,  one  of  the 
greatest  pleasures  of  my  journey  in  Nosuland  was  the 

96 


MARRIAGE  PROPOSALS  97 

sight  of  healthy  women  and  girls  tripping  about  with 
natural  feet. 

The  foreigner  who  has  seen  how  Chinese  little  girls  have 
their  feet  bound  never  gets  used  to  the  lily  feet  of  the 
celestials,  and  the  slow  walk  of  these  sisters  never  calls  forth 
his  admiration.  Chinese  women,  by  beautifully  embroidered 
shoes,  by  highly  coloured  ankle  bands,  by  strikingly  loud 
silk  trousers  trimmed  with  rich  braid,  try  to  make  their  lower 
extremities  attractive,  and  in  some  way  not  understood  by 
foreigners  have  succeeded  in  doing  so.  Even  in  country 
villages,  where  one  would  expect  the  details  of  fashion  would 
not  have  much  control,  the  young  men  seeking  wives  are 
inlluenced  by  the  size  of  the  foot.  The  girl  with  a three- 
inch-sole  shoe  and  an  ugly  face  has  a better  chance  in  the 
matrimonial  market  than  a five-inch-sole-shocd  girl  who 
might  have  a face  like  a Madonna.  There  is  no  accounting 
for  the  taste  of  some  men.  Fashion  is  supposed  to  rule 
women,  but  men  are  just  as  big  slaves  to  fashion,  at  least  at 
some  times. 

How  to  get  all  the  young  people  happily  married  is  a 
problem  that  often  worries  a missionary  who  makes  himself 
one  with  his  people.  In  my  own  diocese  I have  thousands  of 
children  and  young  people,  and  in  some  districts  the  Christian 
girls  are  more  numerous  than  the  Christian  young  men. 
Heathen  men  are  willing  to  marry  these  girls,  but  that  way 
out  of  a difficulty  is  only  taken  in  very  rare  instances.  The 
whole  weight  of  the  Church  is  thrown  into  the  scale  against 
such  a solution.  One  of  our  Christian  girls  was  getting  quite 
an  old  maid,  having  reached  the  age  of  twenty-eight.  Several 
heathen  had  asked  for  her,  but  she  refused  them  all.  Then 
we  tried  to  get  a Christian  from  another  district  to  propose. 


G 


98 


MARRIAGE  PROPOSALS 


One  Christmas  we  got  a number  of  the  girls  from  the  places 
where  bridegrooms  are  scarce  to  come  and  spend  a few  days 
at  the  central  station,  hoping  that  their  fresh,  attractive 
manners  would  lead  to  some  proposals  being  made  in  the 
regular  Oriental  way.  One  of  our  preachers  approached  a 
country  tenant  farmer  and  tried  to  persuade  him  to  ask  for 
the  twenty-eight-year-old  lady.  We  all  thought  it  would 
come  off.  The  man  was  about  the  same  age  as  the  lady  in 
question,  and  had  not  yet  succeeded  in  getting  engaged. 
But,  to  our  surprise,  he  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  plan, 
and  gave  as  his  reason  : “ Who  would  marry  a girl  with  a 
skirt  like  that  ? ” The  girl  in  question  had  her  skirt  em- 
broidered in  a different  way  to  the  girls  and  women  in  the 
village  where  the  particular  swain  lived,  and  he  felt  that  he 
dared  not  make  such  an  innovation  on  the  fashions  of  his  own 
village.  Men  also  are  sometimes  big  fools  when  fashion  is 
in  question.  A beautiful  pair  of  brown  eyes,  long  fine  black 
hair  and  a good  Christian  character  counted  as  nothing  against 
a strange  style  of  skirt  embroidery  ! 

Away  on  some  uplands,  opposite  the  slope  where  we  rested, 
waiting  for  the  forgotten  hat,  one  could  see  a number  of  burnt 
houses  which  had  evidently  been  standing  not  long  ago. 
Some  few  days’  journey  away  lived  a powerful  chief  named 
Too,  one  of  the  Earth  Eyes,  the  great  overlords  the  story  of 
whose  doings  would  fill  many  books.  This  overlord  Too  had 
in  the  past  few  years  been  trying  to  make  himself  head  of  all 
the  clans  in  the  southern  part  of  Nosuland.  A number  of 
the  minor  chiefs  had  willingly  paid  taxes  to  him,  but  he  now 
demanded  rent  as  well,  and  to  this  the  people  strongly  de- 
murred. In  the  spring  he  had  appeared  with  a thousand  men 
and  had  burned  all  the  houses  in  the  district  we  were  looking 


AND  THE  WATER-SUPPLY  99 

on.  He  had  prepared  to  march  farther  inland,  intending 
to  pursue  the  same  tactics,  but  a number  of  the  clans  gathered 
their  fighting  men  together  and  waited  for  Too  on  a hill,  the 
approach  to  which  was  up  a steep  cliff.  Overlord  Too 
evidently  thought  discretion  was  the  better  part  of  valour, 
and  retired.  These  quarrels  about  the  land  will  in  the  end 
lead  to  the  Chinese  i-ulers  seizing  the  whole  of  it  and  destroy- 
ing the  independence  of  Nosuland.  1 heard  an  aborigine 
story  a few  days  ago  to  this  effect.  A tit  and  a wren  were 
quarrelling  about  a nest  of  young  birds,  each  claiming  them 
as  her  offspring.  At  last,  being  unable  to  settle  the  quarrel 
of  themselves,  they  appealed  to  the  black-coated  raven,  who 
held  a kind  of  official  position  among  the  birds.  The  raven 
ordered  the  nest  of  young  birds  to  be  brought  to  him,  and  one 
half  expected  the  story  to  develop  into  a kind  of  variation 
of  the  famous  decision  of  Solomon.  This,  however,  is  China 
and  not  Judea.  The  raven  promptly  devoured  the  young 
birds,  and  when  he  had  finished  he  said  : “ That  is  the  end 
of  that  lawsuit.”  Tire  tit  and  the  wren  went  away  wiser 
than  they  came. 

As  we  climbed  higher  up  among  the  hills  we  passed  several 
groves  of  dwarf  oak-trees.  These  dwarf  oak-trees  are  a feature 
of  many  of  the  hills  of  West  China.  Now  and  again  one 
comes  across  a larger  oak-tree,  but  the  terrible  and  insane 
warfare  waged  against  all  woods  in  China  makes  the  presence 
of  all  giant  trees  very  rare.  We  have  often  seen  men  carrying 
bundles  of  the  large  leaves  of  these  dwarf  oak-trees,  and 
wondered  what  they  were  being  used  for.  We  found  out  that 
in  the  Yangtse  Valley,  near  Nosuland,  on  the  Chinese  side  of 
I the  river,  a very  popular  brown  sugar  is  made  from  the  cane. 
The  little  cakes  of  brown  sugar,  weighing  about  three  or  four 


100 


MARRIAGE  PROPOSALS 


ounces  each,  are  much  prized,  and  are  carried  great  distances, 
finding  a ready  sale  even  in  the  province  of  Szechuan,  where 
sugar-cane  is  one  of  the  ehief  produets  of  this,  China’s  richest 
and  largest  province.  Some  peeuliarity  in  the  cane  of 
Szeehuan  prevents  this  brown  sugar  being  made,  and  by  a 
kind  of  earrying-eoals-to-Neweastle  and  finding-a-ready- 
market  style,  the  coarse  bro^vn  sugar  of  Yunnan  is  eagerly 
bought  up  right  in  the  midst  of  the  immense  cane-fields  of 
the  sister  province.  The  leaves  of  the  dwarf  oaks  are  used 
to  wrap  up  the  little  brown  cakes  of  sugar. 

In  still  another  province  bordering  on  Yunnan  there  is  a 
silkworm  whieh  feeds  on  these  leaves,  and  from  the  cocoons 
of  these  worms  is  produeed  a very  strong  silk,  nearly  as  good 
as,  but  hardly  so  highly  finished  as,  the  famous  Shantungs  so 
well  knovm  in  Europe.  Some  of  this  silk  we  have  sent 
to  friends  in  England,  w'ho  have  made  it  into  children’s 
dresses,  and  it  has  been  almost  impossible  to  wear  these 
dresses  out. 

We  found  a large  number  of  sheep  grazing  on  the  Nosu 
hills,  and  among  them  a number  of  black  ones.  These 
black  sheep  formed  quite  a striking  feature  on  the  hill -sides. 
From  the  wool  of  these  sheep  the  Nosu  make  their  famous 
felt  eapes.  The  Yunnan  Chinese  and  the  other  aborigines 
constantly  wear  felt  capes  in  winter  or  rainy  weather,  but 
theirs  are  of  a much  coarser  make  than  those  worn  by  the 
independent  Nosu.  The  Chinese  capes  are  usually  white  or 
dyed  blue.  The  Nosu  capes  are  always  a blackish  brown, 
very  mueh  the  colour  of  walnut  stain. 

As  we  were  walking  on  towards  our  night’s  rcsting-plaee 
we  passed  several  girls  and  women,  carrying  water.  A large 
tub  is  carried  on  the  back  by  a rope  over  the  shoulders,  the 


AND  THE  WATER- SUPPLY 


101 


tub  resting  on  the  small  of  the  back.  This  water-carrying 
business  is  one  of  the  heaviest  burdens  the  women  have  to 
bear,  and  often  the  distance  from  the  house  to  the  water  is 
very  great.  I have  knoAvm  some  places  where  the  girls  have 
to  travel  nearly  two  hours  before  they  are  back  home  with 
the  tub  of  water.  They  carry  it  very  dexterously,  scarcely 
ever  spilling  any  of  the  water  over  the  rim  of  the  tub. 
Frequently,  however,  there  is  a leak,  and  then  the  clothes 
get  wet,  of  which  no  notice  is  taken  until  rheumatic  or  other 
pains  warn  the  water-carriers  that  something  has  gone  ^vTong. 
A village  near  a constantly  running  spring  has  a great  ad- 
vantage over  one  distant  from  water.  I have  kno^vn  girls 
base  their  “yes”  or  “no,”  in  reply  to  a proposal,  on  the 
nearness  or  distance  of  the  water-supply  at  the  village  of  the 
would-be  bridegroom.  The  man  who  looks  after  my  horses 
was  the  second  to  propose  in  one  day  to  his  present  wife. 
The  girl  aeeepted  the  first,  not  knowing  that  there  was  a seeond 
proposal  to  come  the  same  day.  \Mien  the  seeond  one 
reached  her  she  immediately  realised  that  the  water-supply 
of  the  seeond  man’s  village  was  close  to  the  houses  and  she 
bitterly  regretted  that  she  had  so  readily  agreed  to  the  first 
proposal.  In  some  way  or  other  she  broke  off  the  first  en- 
gagement, and  went  to  marry  the  man  whose  chief  asset  was 
the  near  water-supply  of  his  village.  Possibly  he  does  not 
■feel  flattered  when  he  remembers  how  he  managed  to  win  his 
■wife ; or,  possibly,  he  never  thinks  anything  about  it,  content 
with  things  as  they  are ; or  again,  he  may  put  dovm  his  success 
over  his  rival  to  his  superior  charms.  Who  knows  ? Who 
dares  to  be  dogmatic  in  matter  concerning  a man  and  a girl 
and  the  great  elusive  mystery  of  the  latter’s  heart  and 
attractive  ways  ? 


102 


MARRIAGE  PROPOSALS 


I asked  my  companion  and  guide,  Mr  Long,  whether  these 
women  and  girls  would  not  prefer  to  live  in  Chinese  territory, 
where  there  are  more  people  and  markets  and  towns,  and 
supplies  of  clothing  are  more  easily  procured.  He  laughed, 
and  said  the  women  preferred  the  free  life  of  the  hills  away 
from  the  Chinese,  and  would  not  change  their  lot  if  they  could 
possibly  help  it.  The  pure  Nosu  woman  would  never  think 
of  marrying  a Chinese.  There  are  some  cases  of  slave  girls 
marrying  Chinese,  and  the  masters  at  times  encourage  this, 
because  the  Chinese  then  tends  to  become  a slave  also,  at  the 
disposal  of  the  girl’s  master.  ]\Ir  Long  had  a slave  girl,  a 
white  Nosu,  who  was  given  to  a Chinese  tailor  who  came  to 
the  house  seeking  work.  When  the  affair  was  finally  settled 
the  tailor  agreed  to  give  sixty  days  of  free  tailoring  each  year 
to  Mr  Long’s  second  wife  in  return  for  the  privilege  of  marry- 
ing the  girl.  When  the  tailor  could  save  up  enough  money 
he  was  going  to  purchase  and  so  free  his  wife.  He  had  offered 
sixteen  oimces  of  silver  but  the  girl’s  mistress  had  stuck  out 
for  twenty  ounces,  and  when  I was  there  no  bargain  had  yet 
been  completed.  I heard  later  on  that  the  girl  repented  that 
she  had  agreed  to  be  married  to  the  Chinese  tailor  but  she 
had  been  unable  to  get  out  of  the  engagement.  Tliough  there 
are  a few  cases  such  as  this,  the  Nosu  as  a rule  intermarry 
with  Nosu. 

Chatting  away,  and  learning  all  I could  about  the  land  and 
the  people,  we  began  to  near  the  end  of  the  day’s  journey. 
Some  of  the  latter  part  of  the  road  was  very  bad.  There  was 
one  lot  of  rocks  we  had  to  climb  around,  where  they  say  even 
monkeys  have  to  be  shod  with  iron  shoes  before  they  can 
climb  over  it.  We  managed  to  negotiate  the  monkey-puzzling 
cliffs  without  mishap,  and  soon  after  came  to  a great  pine- 


AND  THE  WATEE-SITPPLY 


103 


tree  eighty  feet  high.  Last  year  an  old  man  nearly  seventy 
years  of  age  had  climbed  up  this  tree  to  prune  some  of  the 
top  branches.  Tree-climbing  is  one  of  the  things  these 
aborigines  of  West  China  are  expert  at.  I have  seen  boys 
go  up  tall  trees  like  a set  of  monkeys.  When  I saw  some 
boys  climb  nimbly  up  tall  pine-trees  with  all  the  lower 
branches  cut  away  I thought  they  looked’  like  the  natives  of 
the  Malay  States,  who  climb  the  palms  with  great  dexterity 
and  celerity. 

Snow  fell  towards  evening,  and  we  finished  ourday’s  journey 
w'ith  the  white  flakes  falling  everywhere,  and  so  there  was 
no  chance  of  photographing  the  village  where  we  were 
to  stop  the  night.  A fine  wall  surroimded  the  village, 
and  the  wall  was  loopholed  all  around  with  slanting  holes. 
These  loopholes  were  about  the  height  of  one’s  shoulder, 
and  everything  was  ready  for  the  repelling  of  a sudden 
attack. 

We  found  at  this  village  that  the  Nosu  people  do  not  use 
the  copper  cash  which  are  found  all  over  China,  and  that 
barter  is  in  full  swing.  When  we  were  there  salt  was  largely 
the  medium  of  exchange.  The  salt  used  was  the  black  variety 
produced  at  Tsi  Liu  Ching  and  exported  over  so  wide  an  area 
in  West  China.  One  catty  of  salt  purchased  four  catties  of 
honey.  Two  catties  of  salt  purchased  one  catty  of  bees-wax. 
Two  catties  of  salt  purchased  one  of  small  dried  mushrooms, 
the  kind  so  much  used  in  the  recherche  feasts  of  China.  Two 
of  salt  also  purchased  one  of  raw  hide.  Labour  was  also 
paid  for  in  salt.  The  comparative  dearness  of  salt,  none  of 
which  was  produced  in  the  parts  of  Nosuland  I visited,  made 
it  too  valuable  an  article  to  be  often  eaten,  and  much  of  the 
food  consumed  by  the  people  is  never  flavoured  with  salt. 


104 


MARRIAGE  PROPOSALS 


The  Nosu  say  that  the  flabbiness  of  the  Chinese  men,  and  their 
inability  to  cope  with  the  Nosu  in  enduring  hardness,  is  due 
to  an  excessive  eating  of  salt.  Now,  however,  that  the 
Central  Government  has  begun  to  tax  salt  very  heavily  and 
is  likely  to  tax  it  still  more,  the  West  China  Chinese  are 
likely  to  approach  the  Nosu  more  nearly  in  their  sparing  use 
of  a salt  diet.  To  put  it  very  mildly,  the  Government  salt 
policy  is  one  that  has  not  the  welfare  of  the  poor  people  at 
heart,  and  is  likely  to  produce  complications  that  are  not 
yet  clearly  foreseen.  When  a man  has  to  pay  a day  and 
a half’s  wages  for  a pound  of  salt  in  a country  where  there 
are  abundant  sources  of  salt -supply,  something  must  be 
wrong. 


CHAPTER  X 


SUPPER  A LA  NOSU 

WE  stayed  the  night  at  Chie-tsu  Leh-ehieh,  the 
village  with  the  loopholed  wall  around  it.  The 
home  where  we  found  a w^eleome  was  that  of  an 
uncle  of  one  of  the  Nosu  travelling  with  us.  Passing  through  a 
courtyard,  we  were  shoA\Ti  into  a long  room  with  scarcely  any 
furniture  in  it.  There  was  a large  stone  fireplace  in  the  floor 
at  one  end,  and  on  the  fire  was  a large  iron  tripod,  about  two 
feet  in  diameter.  On  this  was  resting  an  enormous  iron  pan, 
similar  to  those  the  Chinese  use  nearly  all  over  the  country. 
There  was  a wood  fire  in  full  blaze,  and  the  sight  of  it  to  the 
travellers  coming  out  of  the  falling  snow  was  very  cheering 
and  welcome. 

The  lady  of  the  house  was  squatting  on  the  floor  on  one 
side  of  the  fire.  Her  long  skirt  was  spread  out  around  her. 
Two  other  women  were  near  by,  busy  wdth  the  fire  and  the 
big  iron  pan  on  the  tripod.  There  was  a long  straw  mat 
on  the  side  of  the  fire  facing  the  lady  of  the  house,  and  here 
we  sat  dowTi,  getting  as  near  to  the  fire  as  we  could,  for  it 
was  very  cold  indeed.  We  sat  watching  the  fire  and  wonder- 
ing how  long  it  would  take  to  cook  the  huge  steamer  of  rice 
that  was  resting  in  the  iron  pan  on  the  huge  tripod. 

I noticed  that  none  of  the  men  about  the  place  had  any 
whiskers  or  moustache,  and  was  told  that  the  Nosu  men  do 
not  consider  it  right  to  grow  these.  The  hairs  are  all  pulled 
out  in  early  manhood,  and  never  allowed  to  grow%  except  in 

105 


106 


SUPPER  A LA  NOSU 


very  rare  cases,  when,  in  order  to  circumvent  some  peculiarly 
obnoxious  demon,  the  hair  is  allowed  to  grow  in  the  natural 
way.  I wonder  if  anyone  has  ever  got  right  to  the  back  of 
the  wizard’s  mind  which  governs  all  these  matters.  Much  of 
what  these  wizards  say  and  do  seems  absurd,  and  often  very 
ridiculous,  and  yet  they  have  their  system  of  philosophy 
and  their  reason  for  doing  things.  I expect  the  idea  of  allow- 
ing the  hairs  to  grow  is  to  deceive  the  demon  into  thinking 
the  hairy  person  is  not  a Nosu,  and  so  out  of  the  particular 
jurisdiction  of  that  feared  denizen  of  the  dark  world.  The 
Chinese  often  dress  a baby  boy  in  girl’s  clothes  so  as  to  make 
the  evil  sprites  fancy  the  baby  is  only  a girl  and  not  worth 
paying  attention  to.  Most  ungallant  are  the  sprites  of  the 
underworld,  and  their  education  is  decidedly  not  up  to 
twentieth -century  standard.  One  is  half  tempted  to  ask 
whether  they  have  yet  got  the  . . . — but  one  refrains. 

At  twenty  minutes  to  seven  there  was  a great  commotion. 
Men  and  women  began  to  talk  excitedly.  A number  who 
had  been  squatting  around  the  fire  on  which  the  tripod  rested 
got  up  and  moved  to  one  side.  It  was  as  if  they  were  making 
way  for  the  arrival  of  another  guest.  On  inquiry  1 was  in- 
formed that  they  were  about  to  bring  in  my  supper.  When 
one  is  hungry,  what  a fascinating  word  that  word  supper  is  ! 
We  were  all  very  hungry,  and  I wondered  what  supper  d la 
Nosu  would  be  like. 

While  I was  wondering  and  waiting  several  men  came  in 
through  the  door,  leading  a fine  fat  goat.  As  the  cattle  of  the 
households  of  these  aboriginals  often  sleep  under  the  same 
roof  as  the  people  of  the  farm,  and  sometimes  quite  close  to 
the  men  and  women,  there  was  nothing  very  unusual  about 
a goat  coming  into  the  room  where  I and  others  were  to  sleep. 


107 


SITPPER  A LA  NOSTT 

This  goat,  however,  w'as  not  at  all  anxious  to  come,  for  the 
fold  was  in  another  part  of  the  premises.  lie  did  not  seem 
at  all  desirous  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  the  foreign  visitor, 
and  evidently  only  wanted  to  get  back  to  the  fold,  where  his 
comrades  were  resting  and  trying  to  get  warm  while  the  snow 
was  falling  outside. 

That  was  the  supper,  all  alive  and  walking  very  reluctantly 
into  the  centre  of  the  large  room  in  the  direction  of  the  fire- 
place where  rested  the  iron  tripod.  It  is  a most  uncanny 
sensation  to  have  one’s  supper  walk  on  its  own  legs  towards 
one.  I was  very,  very  hungry,  but  I was  a man  and  not  a 
wolf,  and  did  not  quite  feel  like  dining  as  the  monarchs  of 
the  forest  and  the  robbers  of  the  hill -side  dine.  Just  then  one 
could  have  sat  down  gladly  to  such  a supper  as  one  can  get 
in  certain  places  in  the  Strand,  and  I am  sure  with  my  eager 
appetite  I could  have  done  justice  to  all  the  waiter  put 
before  me.  How  different  the  scene  now  ! The  long,  dark 
room,  with  no  lamps  and  only  the  light  of  the  blazing  fire ; 
no  tables  with  clean  white  cloths,  and  sparkling  glasses  and 
brightly  polished  cutlery  ! In  moments  of  weakness,  or  w hen 
one  wants  to  conjure  up  a striking  contrast  to  one’s  present 
position,  one  allowa  oneself  to  wander  in  thought  to  some  of 
the  places  where  he  has  rested  and  refreshed  himself  in  years 
gone  by.  Many  a time  I have  remembered  a certain  place  in 
Moscow  where  I once  had  supper,  and  w'hile  I was  having  it 
I remarketl  to  one  of  my  companions  that  if  I could  suddenly 
transport  some  of  my  West  China  poor  friends  to  the  hall 
in  which  we  were  then  sitting  they  would  think  that  at  last 
they  had  reached  the  heaven  their  missionary  has  sometimes 
told  them  about.  You  may  think  this  is  all  by  the  way,  and 
has  nothing  to  do  with  supper  d la  Nosu.  It  is  just  because 


108 


SUPPER  A LA  NOSU 


it  has  nothing  to  do  with  it  that  I am  ^vTiting  it.  The  longer 
one  can  put  off  the  description  of  the  walking  supper  the 
better  one  is  pleased.  In  those  places  that  one  sometimes 
from  sheer  contrariness  thinks  about,  it  is  the  well-groomed 
waiter  that  brings  in  the  supper.  Here  the  supper  brought 
itself  in,  and  the  foreigner  lifting  the  veil  in  search  of  adven- 
tures was  to  get  a shock  before  he  and  supper  made  closer 
acquaintance. 

I watched  the  scene  with  great  interest,  wondering  what 
was  going  to  happen  next.  Inexpressible,  confounded  horrors  ! 
What  in  the  world  are  they  going  to  do  ? There  was  no  time 
to  wonder  any  longer.  Right  in  front  of  where  we  were 
sitting  they  proceeded  to  throw  the  goat  down  and  kill  it. 
The  knife  was  very  blunt  and  the  slaughtering  was  clumsily 
done.  The  whole  affair  was  barbarous.  The  man  stopped 
right  in  the  midst  of  the  killing  to  sharpen  his  knife.  It  was 
a most  nauseous  sight,  and  I would  gladly  have  kicked  the 
whole  show  out  into  the  snow  or  run  away  myself.  But  I 
had  determined  to  grumble  at  nothing  and  to  go  through  with 
it  all,  whatever  might  happen.  I felt,  however,  I owed  a 
deep  apology  to  the  poor  animal  who  had  so  ceremoniously 
been  led  into  the  presence  of  the  foreigner  whose  coming  had 
brought  such  disaster  to  it. 

Turning  away  from  the  scene,  I looked  into  the  flames  of 
the  cheery  fire  and  read  therein  pictures  very  different  from 
the  scenes  being  enacted  close  by.  If  anyone  has  a fancy  for 
taking  his  supper  in  a slaughter-house  let  him  pay  a visit  to 
Nosuland  and  win  his  way  into  the  hearts  of  this  strange, 
interesting,  brave  people. 

As  soon  as  the  goat  had  been  skinned  and  fairly  well  clcanerl, 
the  head  and  legs  were  cut  off.  The  head  was  thrown  into 


109 


SUPPER  A LA  NOSU 

the  fire  to  burn  itself  clean,  and  the  legs  were  given  to  the 
children.  1 was  told  the  children  always  had  the  legs  as  their 
perquisite.  They  burnt  these  in  the  fire  until  the  hair  was 
all  gone  and  the  meat  was  warmed  through,  and  then  ate 
them  with  great  relish.  Not  a trace  of  salt  did  they  have 
with  the  burnt  legs.  Presently  one  of  the  men  brought  over 
the  lungs,  heart,  kidneys,  etc.,  and  burnt  these  for  a very  short 
time  in  the  ashes  of  the  wood  fire.  They  were  then  taken  out, 
cut  up  into  pieces,  put  on  a wooden  trencher  with  a high 
stand  and  presental  to  Mr  Long  and  me.  This  was  a mark 
of  respect  to  us,  and  there  was  no  way  out  of  it.  Mr  Long 
was  quite  ready  to  partake  of  the  dish,  and  1 imitated  him. 
The  half-cooked,  saltless  meat  was  very  sweet  and  had  quite 
a flavour  of  its  own.  When  one  had  overcome  one’s  first 
reluctance  there  wns  nothing  to  find  fault  with. 

It  is  considered  the  correct  thing  to  kill  the  supper  animal 
in  the  presence  of  the  guest.  The  guest  then  knows  for  a 
certainty  that  it  is  for  his  particular  benefit  that  the  animal 
has  been  prepared,  and  he  can  also  be  sure  that  the  goat  is 
not  a diseased  one  and  that  the  meat  is  not  some  old  remains 

I 

I which  a former  guest  has  been  unable  to  eat.  If  a second 

I party  of  guests  arrives  on  the  same  day  a second  animal  is 

killed  and  cooked  wdth  the  same  ceremony. 

At  tw  enty  minutes  to  eight  the  meat  had  been  all  cut  up, 
and  it  w’as  all  placed  in  the  huge  pan  of  boiling  water  over 
the  wood  fire.  AU  the  meat  is  cooked  at  once,  and  if  possible 
eaten  at  the  one  meal.  Nothing  should  be  left  over.  The 
host  wants  it  to  be  known  that  he  is  caring  only  for  his  guest 
and  is  not  thinking  at  all  about  his  own  needs.  While  the 
« meat  was  cooking  one  of  the  household  girls  every  now  and 
I again  turned  it  over  with  a large  wooden  spoon.  The  spoon 


110 


SUPPER  A LA  NOSU 

was  more  than  two  feet  in  length  and  about  ten  inches  wide 
in  the  ladle.  It  would  have  made  a magnificent  jam  spoon. 

At  the  prospect  of  supper  before  long  everybody  began 
to  feel  more  comfortable  and  to  brighten  up  considerably. 
The  girls  and  women  of  the  household  were  quite  friendly, 
and  very  willing  to  explain  anything  they  were  doing  or  to 
show  me  anything  they  were  using.  Conversation  became 
brisk,  and  every  now  and  again,  at  some  funny  remark,  rows 
of  beautifully  white  teeth  that  set  one  longing  for  a similar 
set  smiled  in  a fascinating  way.  It  was  nice  to  see  that  the 
women  were  frank  and  open  and  not  afflicted  with  a false 
shyness.  In  China  it  is  most  disconcerting  to  have  nearly 
all  the  women  turn  their  faces  aside  if  you  address  them  on 
any  subject,  and,  if  they  should  be  young  women,  perhaps 
look  black,  in  addition,  and  refuse  to  answer  you.  These 
Nosu  women  will  smile  and  look  you  square  in  the  face  as  if 
you  were  one  of  their  own  family.  An  experience  like  that 
reminds  one  of  home,  and  brings  a very  comforting  feeling 
to  one. 

The  lady  of  the  house  had  a large  cloak  of  sheep’s  fur, 
worn  fur  outwards,  over  her  clothes.  She  was  a widow,  and 
conducted  herself  with  great  kindness  and  dignity.  What 
she  really  thought  inside  I do  not  know,  but  I fancy  she 
felt  we  were  doing  her  a kindness  in  coming  to  visit  her. 
These  people  do  not  like  to  be  left  alone,  and  the  number  and 
rank  of  their  guests  show  the  rank  they  hold  in  the  social 
scale.  This  horror  of  being  left  alone  is  common  to  all 
peoples  in  China.  There  is  a great  longing  for  company,  and 
“ cold  loneliness,”  as  it  is  termed,  is  the  state  detested 
most  of  all. 

Just  before  the  meat  was  considered  sulliciently  cooked 


SUPPER  A LA  NOSU 


111 


several  bunches  of  dried  holly  were  brought  in  and  thrown 
on  the  fire.  The  blaze  and  crackling  of  the  holly  put  an  air 
of  delightful  brightness  over  everything.  It  was  like  a fanfare 
of  trumpets  hcraldmg  the  approach  of  the  most  important 
guest  of  all.  Everybody  was  now  on  the  alert.  Even  a 
few  sleepers,  who,  in  their  tiredness,  had  gone  to  rest  at  the 
other  end  of  the  room,  woke  up  and  prepared  for  the  event 
of  the  evening. 

The  meal  was  served  up  on  the  ground,  reminding  one  of  a 
fresher’s  “ squash  ” at  Cambridge,  but  while  the  viands  were 
as  easily  reached  as  in  the  undergraduates’  rooms,  there  were 
none  of  the  comfortable  seats  for  the  guests.  First  a small 
solid  wooden  tray  was  plaeed  on  the  ground  in  front  of  us, 
and  in  this  were  three  w'ooden  dishes.  All  these  were  made 
of  camphor  wood  and  rudely  painted  in  several  colours. 
One  of  the  dishes  contained  rice,  piled  up  in  pyramid  fashion. 
The  second  contained  eight  pounds  of  the  eooked  goat,  eut 
in  pieees  of  from  half-a-ix)und  to  one  pound  in  size.  The 
third  contained  gravy.  Two  wooden  spoons  about  ten  inches 
long  were  placed  by  the  side  of  the  dishes.  The  two  principal 
guests,  Mr  Long  and  the  Englishman,  were  invited  to  begin. 
The  other  guests  and  their  retainers  were  eating  on  the  floor 
near  by,  while  the  family  waited  imtil  everybody  else  had 
finished.  Salt  was  very  sparingly  used,  and  in  the  gravy 
which  the  members  of  the  family  took  with  their  meal  no 
salt  was  put  at  all. 

Negotiating  the  pyramid  of  rice  with  our  two  spoons  was 
not  a very  easy  task.  Care  has  to  be  taken  that  the  riee  is 
not  spilled  nor  allowed  to  run  off  the  wooden  basins.  By  going 
slowly  and  carefully  we  managed  to  carry  out  this  part  of 
the  programme.  The  difficult  task  was  with  the  meat.  How 


112 


SUPPER  A LA  NOSU 


to  eat  huge  junks  of  meat,  half-a-poxmd  or  more  in  size,  with 
a wooden  spoon,  might  well  puzzle  a traveller.  There  was,  of 
course,  only  one  way  to  do  this,  and  that  way  we  both  took. 
It  was  most  awkward  and  most  amusing.  WTien  IMr  Lung 
and  I were  both  gnawing  d la  Nosu  at  huge  pieees  of  the  goat 
that  had  walked  in  so  reluctantly  not  long  ago  we  could  not 
see  each  other.  And  to  tell  the  truth,  meat  cooked  in  Nosu 
fashion  is  very  tough,  and  those  lovely  white,  shining,  sharp 
teeth  whieh  had  laughed  aeross  the  fire  at  the  man  dressed 
in  black  like  a bear  were  not  to  be  borrowed  for  the  occasion. 
When  you  have  finished  your  piece  of  meat  the  bone  that  is 
left  is  slung  by  the  guest  right  aeross  the  room  to  the  door, 
where  the  fierce,  wolfish  watch -dogs  are  eagerly  awaiting  their 
share  of  the  feast.  The  dogs  had  a surprise  that  night,  and 
on  several  succeeding  nights,  as  long  as  I stayed  in  this  most 
interesting  country.  Instead  of  well -picked  jgones  the  dogs 
frequently  got  fine  pieces  of  splendid  meat,  wliieh  must  have 
been  a surprising  change  to  them. 

A Methodist  minister  who  used  to  travel  many  years  ago 
in  the  Seilly  Isles  had  a monotonous  romid  of  dinners  in 
the  various  homes  of  his  people  he  used  to  visit.  Cold  fat 
salt  pork  was  the  invariable  piece  de  resistance,  and  that  was 
the  one  thing  in  the  whole  food  world  whieh  he  abominated. 
But  he  told  how  under  the  spotlessly  white  deal  table  the 
dog  of  the  house  used  to  rest  at  dinner-time.  By  telling  an 
interesting  story  it  was  very  easy  to  turn  the  attention  of  the 
kind,  too-pressing  hostess  on  to  some  other  line,  and  then  the 
dog  under  the  table  had  his  welcome  shoek  as  the  pieees  of  rich 
fat  pork  were  slip]jcd  off  the  minister’s  plate.  Such  feats  of 
domestic  conjuring  werca  great  help  to  the  Methodist  itinerant, 
and  won  for  him  the  eternal  friendship  of  the  house-dogs. 


An  Aboriginal  Village 

The  end  of  the  housi  is  almost  entirely  open  to  wim’  and  rain. 


SUPPER  A LA  NOSU 


113 


In  a very  short  time  the  supper  was  over.  The  goat  that 
had  walked  in  was  almost  forgotten.  Guests  erowded  around 
the  fire  onee  more,  and  all  tongues  were  busy  with  that  con- 
versation that  never  comes  to  an  end  but  goes  on  for  ever 
and  helps  to  make  this  world  the  happy,  interesting  place  it 
frequently  is. 

With  the  end  of  the  supper  the  duties  of  the  evening 
did  not  cease.  At  about  eleven  o’clock  there  was  a magic- 
lantern  display.  It  was  given  in  the  room  where  we  had  had 
our  novel  and  satisfying  supper.  One  can  hardly  describe 
what  this  magic-lantern  display  meant  to  the  people  of  Nosu- 
land.  They  are  full  of  superstition,  and  altogether  under 
the  rule  of  the  wizards  who  are  in  touch  with  the  demon 
world  and  adepts  in  the  black  art.  Right  into  the  midst 
of  such  a people  comes  the  black-dressed  foreigner  with  his 
magic-lantern,  and  one  can  easily  guess  what  a sm'prisc  and  a 
startling  awakening  it  was  for  the  people.  Cries  of  pleasure, 
roars  of  laughter,  exclamations  of  surprise,  shrinkings  of  fear, 
shouts  of  wonder  succeeded  each  other  for  an  hour.  What 
the  total  effect  was  I can  only  guess.  What  the  wizards 
thought  I do  not  know.  It  is  necessary,  if  one  wants  to  get 
the  best  influence  over  the  tribesmen,  to  convince  them  that 
one  is  not  only  not  afraid  of  the  wizards  but  that  one  knows 
a few  more  things  than  those  men  who  have  had  the  field  to 
themselves  for  so  many  years.  In  the  end  the  wizard  has 
to  take  a very  second  place. 


H 


CHAPTER  XI 


THE  FARMSTEAD  IN  THE  VALLEY 

The  lantern  display  was  finished  about  midnight. 
Soon  after  we  lay  down  on  the  floor  and  went  to  sleep. 
The  night  was  very  cold,  and  some  of  the  people  felt 
it  a good  bit.  The  next  morning  we  were  up  at  half-past  six. 
Going  outside,  we  found  the  whole  country-side  white  with 
snow.  The  rule  among  these  hill-people  is  that  if  you  have 
had  supper  at  a house  you  leave  before  breakfast  the  next 
morning.  There  is  always  one  meal  free  for  any  who  come, 
but,  except  in  special  cases,  not  more.  Following  the  custom 
of  the  countrj^  we  left  early,  hoping  to  get  breakfast  some- 
where farther  on.  We  passed  a number  of  villages  on  our 
way  and  saw  many  fine  trees.  One  who  only  travels  on  the 
main  roads  of  Yunnan  sadly  misses  the  trees.  Sylvan  scenery, 
of  which  Lord  Beaconsficld  rightly  said  one  never  tires,  is 
almost  absent.  Huge  cliffs,  limestone  rocks,  rushing  moun- 
tain torrents  abound,  but  these  do  not  make  up  for  the  absent 
trees.  Here  in  Nosuland  we  found  many  trees  of  great  size. 
The  war  against  these  trees  has  also  commenced.  Many  of 
them  are  cut  down  and  sawn  into  huge,  heavy  coffin  boards, 
which  are  carried  down  to  the  Yangtse  and  then  sold  to  the 
Chinese.  They  are  then  transported  to  the  busy  centres  of 
North  Yunnan,  and  command  heavy  prices.  As  the  Nosu 
go  in  for  cremation  and  set  no  store  by  these  insanely  heavy 
coffins,  the  trees  have  had  a long  respite.  Now  the  Chinese 
have  denuded  their  own  hills  of  most  of  the  large  trees  they 

114 


THE  FAR.AISTEAD  IN  THE  VALLEY  115 


have  gone  farther  afield,  and  are  willing  to  pay  the  Nosu 
very  generously  for  the  wood  grown  north  of  the 
Yangtsc. 

Why  the  Chinese  set  such  store  by  these  huge,  ungainly 
cofFms  one  docs  not  know.  Why  a dead  man  should  be 
happier  in  a coffm  with  sides  in  parts  a foot  thick  rather  than 
in  one  with  sides  an  inch  thick  passes  a Westerner’s  compre- 
hension. And  when  you  see  countrjTnen  toiling  up  the 
seven  or  eight  thousand  feet  from  the  river  to  the  hills  near 
Chaotung,  bearing  on  their  backs  huge  boartls  of  immense 
weight,  which  tire  them  and  bring  on  premature  old  age,  you 
wish  that  the  Chinese  in  their  funeral  customs  were  not  so 
bound  down  in  slavery  to  old-age  customs.  Possibly  with 
the  changes  which  arc  now  rapidly  coming  over  the  land 
reform  in  burial  matters  may  make  some  headway.  We 
were  sorry  to  see  this  demand  for  large  coffins  causing  the 
cutting  down  of  many  of  the  finest  trees  in  the  woods  of 
Nosuland. 

With  boots  and  stockings  soaking,  through  walking  in  the 
snow,  we  at  last  reached  a farmhouse  in  the  See-tieh  \"alley. 
Here  lived  an  old  man  well  versed  in  Nosu  folk-lore  and  tradi- 
tion. W e had  arranged  to  stay  a few  days  at  his  farm,  hoping 
to  gather  a lot  of  valuable  information  about  the  hill-people. 
The  old  man’s  name  was  Ah-Pooh,  and  his  wife’s  name  was 
Ah-Hleh.  A number  of  men  were  waiting  at  the  outer  gate- 
way of  the  farm,  and  as  we  passed  by  they  roared  with 
laughter  at  the  strange  black-bear  being  who  had  come  to  be 
a guest  at  Ah-Pooh’s  home.  We  also  joined  in  the  laughter, 
and  felt  quite  safe  with  folk  who  could  laugh  so  heartUy. 
I had  never  suspected  that  a suit  of  black  clothing  would  cause 
such  fun.  If  one  could  always  rely  on  such  a suit  producing 


116  THE  FARMSTEAD  IN  THE  VALLEY 


such  health-giving,  friend-making  mirth,  I would  take  care 
never  to  be  without  a supply  of  such  suits. 

The  room  we  were  shown  into  was  fifty  feet  long,  and  there 
was  no  opening  at  all  for  light  except  the  one  door  in  the 
centre.  We  found  everything  quite  dark,  and  could  not  see 
one  another  until  our  eyes  got  accustomed  to  the  want  of 
light.  We  made  our  way  to  the  fireplace,  which  was  the  usual 
hole  in  the  mud  floor.  We  were  glad  to  squat  down  in  the 
warmth  by  the  side  of  the  burning  logs.  It  was  a treat  to 
get  one’s  shoes  and  stockings  off  and  to  warm  one’s  feet  by 
the  comforting  fire.  The  master  and  mistress  of  the  house 
were  both  over  seventy  years  of  age,  and  were  tall,  finely  built 
people.  The  son’s  wife  came  in  soon  after  and  joined  the 
group  around  the  fire.  She  had  on  a blue  jacket  and  a quilted 
skirt,  and  wore  an  enormous  head-dress.  This  latter  was 
made  by  winding  layer  after  layer  of  dark  blue  native  cloth 
around  a small  frame.  Sometimes  nearly  a hmidred  feet 
of  this  cloth  is  so  wound  round  the  head.  The  width  of  the 
cloth  is  a little  more  than  a foot.  The  weight  of  the  head- 
dress is  nearly  six  pounds,  and  must  be  a great  burden  until 
one  is  used  to  it.  Compared  with  some  of  the  light-as-a- 
feather  hats  worn  by  Western  women,  this  is  a great  burden 
indeed,  which  one  fancies  is  the  cause  of  many  headaches. 
The  women,  however,  do  not  seem  to  mind  it,  and  as  a crown 
to  their  tall  figures  the  head-dresses  are  both  striking  and 
picturesque. 

We  had  been  promised  a good  time  at  Ah-Pooh’s  farm- 
stead, and  had  imagined  all  the  stores  of  folk-lore  and  legend 
and  history  we  were  to  gather  together.  But  we  had  indeed 
reckoned  without  our  host.  The  old  man  was  very  fond  of 
wine  and  the  Chinese  of  the  market  village  where  we  had 


THE  FARMSTEAD  IN  THE  VALLEY  117 


crossed  tlie  ferry  had  sent  a spy  aeross  to  sev  what  the 
foreigner  was  doing  in  Nosuland.  Other  messengers  liad 
been  sent  elsewhere  to  plot  against  us  and  to  get  us  into 
trouble.  Mr  Tien  had  lost  in  the  first  game  but  he  was  not 
willing  by  any  means  to  own  that  he  had  lost  the  rubber. 
VVe  were  to  hear  more  of  this  enemy  before  we  got  safely 
baek  home  again.  The  spy  eame  by  a shorter  way  to  See-tieh 
than  we  had,  and  so  he  had  reaehed  the  plaee  before  our 
arrival.  In  a very  simple  way  he  had  bloeked  our  plans. 
He  had  given  the  old  man  a present  of  a jar  of  samshu. 
The  old  man,  in  the  presenee  of  this  temptation,  hatl  promptly 
sueeumbed,  and  when  we  arrived  he  was  quite  drunk,  and 
remained  more  or  less  so  all  the  time  we  stayed  at  the  farm- 
stead. When,  later  on,  they  were  trying  to  tell  him  about  the 
wonders  of  the  magie-lantem,  he  replied  : “ I don’t  eare 
about  it  a bit,  all  I want  is  ‘ Give  me  more  to  drink.’  ” It 
was  a great  disappointment  to  have  our  sourees  of  informa- 
tion so  effeetually  dammed  up.  There  was  no  help  for  it, 
and  we  did  the  best  we  eould  without  the  old  man.  As  for 
Mr  Tien,  I am  afraid  some  of  us  did  not  feel  very  sweetly 
disposed  towards  him. 

Coming  along  that  day  towards  Ah-Pooh’s  home,  one  of 
the  Nosu  travelling  with  us  pointed  to  a spot  where  some 
years  before  he  had  seen  a great  trial  by  ordeal.  WTien  an 
aeeusation  is  brought  against  anyone  there  is  often  an  appeal 
to  the  ordeal.  If  the  affair  is  one  between  two  families  a 
slave  is  ehosen  from  eaeh  side,  and  these  two  have  to  imdergo 
the  ordeal.  The  two  sides  gather  together  in  some  seleeted 
spot  and  the  wizards  direet  the  operations.  A huge  wood 
fire  is  lighted  and  on  this  is  plaeed  a large  iron  pan  of  water. 
This  water  is  boiled  until  the  steam  rises  in  clouds.  An  egg 


118  THE  FARMSTEAD  IN  THE  VALLEY 


is  then  thrown  into  the  centre  of  the  boiling  water.  The 
slave  champions  then  come  forward.  In  turn  each  has  to 
attempt  to  snatch  the  egg  out  of  the  water,  using  only  the 
bare  hand  and  arm  to  do  so.  The  actual  snatchmg  is  pre- 
ceded by  the  chanting  of  the  assembled  %vizards  and  by  a 
protest  of  innocence  on  the  part  of  both  sides.  Providence 
is  expected  to  favour  the  innocent  by  blowing  the  steam  away 
from  their  champion,  towards  the  other  side,  and  by  some 
remarkable  movement  at  the  same  time  blowing  the  egg 
towards  the  edge  of  the  pan  nearest  him.  It  is  easy  in  such 
a case  to  snatch  the  egg  out  without  harm.  Burning  of  the 
hand  and  arm  is  taken  as  a sign  of  guilt. 

This  Nosu  trial  by  ordeal  is  somewhat  similar  to  that  so 
common  among  the  Chinese.  With  the  latter  oil  is  often  used 
instead  of  water.  The  champions  have  to  thrust  their  arms 
into  the  boiling  oil,  and  the  absence  of  burning  is  similarly 
taken  as  the  sign  of  innocence.  Needless  to  say,  it  is  nothing 
of  the  kind. 

When  we  got  comfortably  settled  into  Ah-Pooh’s  home, 
and  had  got  used  to  the  light  of  the  darkness,  we  began  to 
find  out  a few  particulars  about  the  people  with  whom  we 
were  staying.  We  were  told  that  Ah -Pooh  had  two  sons 
living,  five  grandsons  and  two  granddaughters.  His  clan 
of  the  Nhe  family  numbered  nearly  six  hundred  young 
fighting  men.  The  neighbouring  family,  the  La-chee,  could 
muster  fifteen  hundred.  All  these  people  were  very  keen 
on  preventing  the  chief  Too,  the  leader  in  the  great  burning 
raid,  from  lording  it  over  them.  They  were  very  anxious  to 
know  whether  I could  help  them  to  bring  about  a better  state 
of  affairs,  in  which  they  could  go  about  their  daily  rounds 
peaceably.  It  turned  out  later  on  that  it  was  easier  to  help 


THE  FARMSTEAD  IN  THE  VALLEY  110 


them  than  wc  imagined.  Chief  Too  also  did  not  live  very 
long  after  the  raid,  and  the  villages  whieh  wc  visited  suffered 
no  more  from  his  ambitious  projects. 

The  magic-lantern,  the  telescope,  the  camera  and  the  tall 
ISfunchausen  stories  my  companions  told  evidently  convinced 
the  people  that  the  bear-like  Nosu  from  the  land  of  the  sunset 
was  a man  having  control  of  great  powers,  which  would  be 
very  advantageous  to  those  who  were  fortunate  enough  to 
gain  his  assistance.  It  is  an  amusing  situation  to  be  placed 
in,  when  those  around  you  fancy  you  are  somebody  you  are 
not.  They  wish  very  much  that  you  should  play  up  to  the 
role  they  have  in  their  imagination  assigned  to  you.  How 
many  times  in  China  has  one  been  placed  in  such  a situation  ! 
And  how  often  has  a missionary  come  a bad  cropper  when  he 
has  tried,  out  of  the  kindness  of  his  heart,  to  be  w'hat  his 
friends  wanted  him  to  be.  1 was  only  too  willing  and  ready 
to  render  all  the  help  I could  to  the  hospitable  hill -people, 
but  the  greatest  of  helps  I wished  to  render  them  was  not 
just  what  they  were  at  that  time  wanting.  There  was  an 
idea  among  a number  of  these  people  that  if  they  could  only 
get  in  a friendly  outsider  who  was  not  mixed  up  in  any  of  their 
land  quarrels,  and  who  wished  them  all  well,  possibly  this 
disinterested  friend  might  pull  them  all  together  and  settle 
their  constant  tribal  fightings  which  some  were  w'ise  enough 
to  see  were  weakening  them  all.  By-and-by  their  plans 
unfolded  themselves  more  clearly,  and  a scheme  was  devised 
which  some  of  the  wdse  ones  thought  would  exactly  achieve 
their  purposes. 

The  first  thing  done  was  to  adopt  me  into  one  of  the  clans 
and  give  me  a Nosu  name.  This  I readily  agreed  to,  and  was 
glad  to  be  an  adopted  son  of  the  great  Nhe  clan,  rejoicing  in 


120  THE  FARMSTEAD  IN  THE  VALLEY 


the  name  of  Nhe-jah-jah.  This  multiplicity  of  names  is 
one  novel  feature  in  a missionary’s  life  in  West  China.  To 
my  home  friends  I am  known  by  the  name  my  parents  gave 
me  long  ago.  For  more  than  half  of  my  life  I have  lived 
among  people  who  would  never  know  me  by  that  name  but 
who  recognise  me  at  once  by  a name  that  neither  my  father 
nor  mother  knew  anything  about.  Later  on  a change  of 
work  led  me  to  another  people,  and  they  promptly  gave  me  a 
name  of  their  own  coining,  which  again  would  not  be  knoAvn 
among  the  Chinese,  and  now  here  among  the  Nosu  I had  still 
a fourth  appellation.  It  is  most  interesting,  but  rather  be- 
wildering. As  Nhe-jah-jah,  I was  thenceforth  known  among 
those  independent  Nosu,  and  I counted  it  an  honour  to  be 
reckoned  as  one  of  themselves  even  though  I became  kinsman 
of  the  old  sinner  who  got  so  drunk  when  his  guests  came. 
He  was  not  the  only  relative  by  adoption  ; there  were  others 
who  were  more  interesting  and  not  quite  so  old,  and  also  not 
quite  so  fond  of  spirits. 

The  cold  weather  outside  and  the  presence  of  the  guests 
within  made  the  fireplace  a welcome  rendezvous  for  many. 
There  was  an  inner  circle  of  about  a dozen  of  us  around  the 
fire,  and  a second  still  more  numerous  circle  standing  at  our 
backs,  deeply  interested  in  all  that  was  going  on.  We  were 
joined  soon  by  the  widowed  eldest  daughter  of  Ah-pooh, 
who  had  come  across  to  see  the  guests.  She  was  the  mother 
of  three  sons,  and  was  gorgeously  dressed.  There  is  no  doubt 
about  these  Nosu  ladies  knowing  how  to  dress.  From  each 
ear  she  had  more  than  a dozen  silver  chains  hanging  down, 
and,  to  my  great  surprise,  a silver  brooch  fastened  the  front 
of  her  long  jacket.  All  the  women  wear  these  brooches. 
Those  of  the  servants  are  of  brass  and  those  of  the  mistresses 


THE  FARMSTEAD  IN  THE  VALLEY  121 


of  silver.  If  1 had  only  had  a gold  brooch  to  present  to 
this  widowed  lady  1 think  1 could  have  won  her  respect 
for  ever. 

But  while  one  admired  the  gorgeous  dress  and  the  silver 
ear-rings  and  the  brooch  and  the  massive  roll  of  cloth  that 
crowmetl  the  head,  there  was  one  thing  about  the  lady  that 
one  did  not  quite  relish.  She  was  smoking,  and  evidently 
was  very  fond  of  her  five-feet-long  pipe.  A five-feet-long  pipe 
in  the  pretty  mouth  of  a beautifully  dressed,  handsome  woman 
was  a shocker.  We  associate  ladies  smoking  at  home  with 
a delicate  cigarette  and  graceful,  curling  wreaths  of  white 
vapour.  But  here  they  have  left  the  initial  stages  behind 
long  ago,  and  use  a pipe  five  feet  long.  The  mother  was  also 
smoking  a pipe,  but  hers  was  only  four  feet  long.  Several 
of  the  men  were  smoking  short  pipes  with  a wide  bowl,  similar 
to  the  pipes  used  in  England  and  such  as  are  never  seen  in 
China,  where  the  bowl  is  usually  a tiny  one,  able  to  contain 
only  a pinch  of  the  .shaved  tobacco.  When  a Chinaman  is 
hard  up  he  will  use  almost  anything  to  smoke  with.  One  of 
some  chair-men  was  stopping  one  day  by  the  roadside,  and  had 
no  pipe  with  which  to  indulge  in  the  smoke  he  was  longing 
for.  But  I soon  saw  that  he  was  a man  of  resource  and  not 
easily  nonplussed  when  smoking  was  at  stake.  He  went  to 
a garden  near  by,  broke  off  part  of  a marrow-stem  vine,  and 
putting  a small  pinch  of  tobacco  in  the  one  end  he  proceeded 
to  light  the  other,  and  apparently  enjoyed  the  smoke  in  his 
improvised  pipe. 

The  widow  told  us  that  one  of  her  brothers  was  killed  some 
years  ago  by  a member  of  the  Sha-ma  clan.  Ever  since  the 
Nhe  family  have  been  waiting  to  catch  the  slayer  and  make 
him  pay  the  penalty  of  his  deed.  The  law  of  revenge  rules 


122  THE  FARMSTEAD  IN  THE  VALLEY 


through  all  the  clans  and  is  very  rigorously  carried  out. 
The  widow  told  us  that  although  her  brother  had  been  dead 
for  years,  if  any  member  of  her  clan  met  the  man  who  killed 
him  he  would  at  once  attack  him  and  attempt  to  wipe  out 
the  stain  of  the  blood  that  had  been  spilt  by  spilling  more. 
A few  years  afterwards  there  was  a combined  terrible  attack 
on  the  Sha-ma  clan,  when  horrible  revenge  was  taken.  Tliat 
story,  however,  comes  later  on. 

While  I was  sitting  by  the  fire  writing  up  my  diary  Mr  Long 
was  talking  away  at  a rapid  rate,  telling  them  all  the  wonders 
of  the  Nosuland  beyond  the  sea.  Tlae  widow  w'as  a good 
listener.  I told  Mr  Long  I was  like  a deaf  man,  watching  their 
mouths  going  but  unable  to  understand  anything  they  w^re 
saying.  Every  now  and  again  there  was  a very  hearty  laugh 
all  round,  and  I joined  in,  though  I had  not  the  least  idea  where 
lay  the  point  of  the  joke.  If  I could  not  join  in  the  conversa- 
tion I could  closely  watch  the  faces  and  dress  of  those  around 
us.  I found  out  that  single  girls  have  only  one  plait  of  hair, 
while  married  ones  have  two.  There  w^as  a great  laugh  wiien 
this  information  was  given  me.  I can  imagine  how  shocked 
Chinese  women  would  be  if  conversation  had  gone  on  in  theit 
presence  on  such  matters.  These  Nosu  w^omcn  entered  into 
all  the  jokes  as  English  w'omen  w’ould  have,  and  it  w'as  a 
treat  to  see  how  jolly  they  w^ere. 

I asked  my  guide  to  explain  to  the  people  that  no  one  had 
ever  before  had  such  a chance  of  being  in  their  homes  as  I, 
and  that  such  a chance  had  only  come  once  in  my  lifetime,  and 
so  I wanted  to  make  the  most  of  it.  I told  them  that  many 
Westerners  would  w^ant  to  know  all  about  the  brave  hill  Nosu, 
and  that  if  I could  not  give  them  the  required  information 
they  would  laugh  at  me.  There  w'as,  how'ever,  no  need  for 


THE  FARMSTEAD  IN  THE  VALLEY  123 


apologies,  for  they  were  very  willing  indeed  to  tell  me  every- 
thing I wanted  to  know. 

Tlie  retainers  who  had  eome  with  us  were  lodged  in  another 
house,  belonging  to  one  of  the  slaves  of  Ah-pooh.  I went 
down  and  sat  with  the  folk  there  for  a while.  The  wife  in 
the  little  home  was  very  friendly,  asking  me  a lot  of  questions. 
Her  daughter  sat  by  her  side  nursing  a six-month-old  baby. 
Tliey  were  all  very  free  with  us.  The  Chinaman  who  eame 
spying  was  in  the  house  also,  and  did  not  get  on  very  well 
with  the  wife  of  the  slave.  She  had  asked  him  to  give  her  a 
eoujile  of  feet  of  hair  eord  from  the  stoek  whieh  he  earned 
with  him  and  he  had  refused.  Later  on  he  went  to  help  him- 
self to  a drink  of  water  from  the  tub  whieh  the  woman  had 
earried  in.  She  immediately  stopped  him,  telling  him  that 
he  was  strong  enough  to  go  and  earry  his  own  water. 
Evidently  it  was  no  hair  eord,  no  free  drinks.  Tlie  man 
eould  hardly  believe  that  the  woman  meant  what  she  said, 
and  tried  again.  Tlie  woman,  however,  stood  up  vigorously 
to  him,  and  whenever  he  tried  to  get  the  drink  of  water  she 
pushed  him  away.  It  was  a revelation  to  the  Chinese,  eoming 
as  he  did  from  a land  where  woman  has  ever  been  given  a low 
plaee,  and  where  the  proverb  eompares  the  wife  to  a tub  of 
water  in  whieh  the  husband  ean  wash  his  feet  and  when  he 
has  finished  throw  it  away. 

At  three  o’eloek  in  the  afternoon  we  had  breakfast.  This 
time  it  was  not  a goat  but  a fine  pig  that  had  been  slaughtered, 
with  mueh  squealing  and  yelling,  about  twelve  o’clock. 
There  were  the  usual  trenchers  on  the  floor,  also  two  spoons 
and  three  wooden  basins.  One  basin  contained  ten  pounds 
of  pork,  another  the  gravy,  and  the  third  four  buckwheat 
cakes  weighing  about  half-a-pound  each.  We  did  full  justice 


124  THE  FARMSTEAD  IN  THE  VALLEY 


to  the  meal,  and  begged  that  it  might  do  as  supper  as  well. 
We  suggested  that  it  would  last  even  as  to-morrow’s  break- 
fast. 

We  had  some  difficulty  in  getting  the  people  to  face  the 
camera.  Several  photos  we  took  by  stratagem.  Possibly 
the  Chinese  spy  had  been  telling  them  that  I was  going  to 
take  their  spirits  away  with  me  in  the  camera,  and  the 
majority  of  them  were  too  nervous  to  face  the  ordeal.  When, 
however,  later  on  I showed  them  in  the  magic-lantern  the 
photos  of  my  own  boys  they  came  to  the  conclusion  that  if 
there  were  any  wicked  magic  in  photography  I would  never 
have  practised  it  on  my  own  sons. 

The  fun  with  the  moving  figures  was  faster  and  more 
furious  than  ever.  The  laughter  we  managed  to  get  during 
the  time  we  were  in  Nosuland  would  take  a lot  of  beating. 
So  friendly  did  the  people  become  that  they  begged  me  to 
send  for  my  wife  and  children  and  settle  down  among  them. 
This  was  before  they  went  one  further  in  th  se  matters. 
I had  the  immense  advantage  of  the  presence  of  Mr  Long,  who 
spoke  their  language  as  they  did,  and  was  one  of  their  own 
race,  though  he  lived  in  China  proper.  Had  I not  had  this 
great  help  I might  have  fared  as  badly  as  the  second  English- 
man who  got  into  the  heart  of  Nosuland.  The  part  reached 
by  this  unfortunate  traveller  was  in  the  north,  some  distance 
from  the  farmstead  at  See-tieh,  and  many  of  my  aboriginal 
friends  deeply  regret  that  in  a quarrel  that  should  never 
have  happened  he  lost  his  life.  The  northern  men  persist 
in  saying  that  the  trouble  would  never  have  taken  place  had 
the  two  sides  been  able  to  understand  each  other’s  words. 
Unless  a man  is  prepared  to  show  infinite  patience  and  re- 
source, he  should  never  venture  among  people  whose  words 


THE  FARMSTEAD  IN  THE  VALLEY  125 


he  is  entirely  ignorant  of.  A dilTiculty  arises  which  a few 
words  and  a laugh  could  put  straight  at  once,  but  there  is 
no  one  to  speak  those  words,  and  by-and-by  there  is  a tragedy 
which  means  the  loss  of  valuable  lives,  and  difficulties  which 
years  of  waiting  do  not  solve.  The  first  man  with  a bicycle 
to  travel  through  West  China  was  a German- American.  He 
came  at  the  time  when  anti-foreign  riots  were  rather  popular 
in  some  parts  of  China.  He  was  alone,  and  knew  nothing  of 
the  language,  yet  he  managed  to  pass  right  through  the 
country,  causing  immense  excitement  wherever  he  went,  but 
receiving  no  harm  and  doing  no  harm.  When  he  was  in  a 
tight  corner  and  the  mob  looked  ugly  he  used  to  take  out  his 
mouth-organ  and  play.  This  simple  playing  to  the  crowd 
opened  his  way  on  almost  every  occasion.  The  mouth-organ, 
persistent  smiles  and  great  patience  brought  him  safely 
through  dangers  that  with  some  men  would  have  led  to 
serious  riots. 

The  presence  of  Mr  Long  and  the  daily  round  of  smiles  and 
good  humour  saved  me  from  ever  getting  into  any  really 
serious  situation  among  the  so-called  wildmen.  If  care  be 
taken  and  proper  interpreters,  who  are  Nosu  and  not  Chinese, 
be  procured,  it  is  not  likely  that  any  future  traveller  will 
meet  with  such  a terrible  and  deeply  regretted  end  as  that 
met  with  by  the  gallant,  adventurous  Lieutenant  Brooke. 


CHAPTER  XII 


FIRESIDE  YARNS 

IN  my  dining-room  I have  a couple  of  Chinese  vases,  and 
sometimes  they  are  filled  with  magnificent  bunches  of 
magnolias,  plucked  from  a tree  growing  on  a hill  opposite 
my  front  door.  You  cannot  look  at  those  bunches  of 
sweet-smelling  white  magnolias  without  feeling  glad.  At 
another  time,  when  the  snow  is  on  the  ground,  the  same  vases 
are  filled  with  wild  pink  camellias,  and  if  the  flo-wers  are  only 
half  opened,  and  there  are  green  leaves  here  and  there  among 
them,  you  think  you  have  never  seen  a finer  bunch  of 
flowers  in  all  your  life.  On  yet  another  occasion  in  the  same 
vases  are  sweet -peas  and  cornflowers,  wild  roses  and  blue 
gentians  and  several  other  hill-flowers  all  mixed  up  together, 
yet  blending  in  that  perfect  harmony  which  flowers  never 
seem  to  break.  One  wonders  which  is  the  better,  the  bunch 
of  the  one  kind  of  flowers  only  or  the  bunch  of  the  many 
kinds  all  blended  together. 

I have  been  wondering  as  I have  been  reading  over  all  the 
notes  I took  while  travelling  in  Nosuland  which  is  the  better 
way  to  present  them  to  the  reader,  whether  to  pick  out  all 
the  information  and  stories  relating  to  one  subject  and  group 
them  together  like  a bunch  of  pink  camellias  or  white 
magnolias,  or  whether  to  let  the  stories  come  as  they  will,  like 
the  wild  flowers  as  they  are  plucked  from  the  hedges  or  hill- 
sides. Perliaps  it  is  better  to  take  them  as  they  come  to  one, 

126 


FIRESIDE  YARNS 


127 


and  possibly  the  reader  may  thus  more  easily  share  the 
pleasure  that  eame  to  me  during  the  days  when  I was  a guest 
among  the  people  of  unknown  China. 

Sitting  around  the  fireside,  we  drifted  into  talking  about 
the  customs  of  the  Nosu  at  death.  Cremation  is  the  miiversal 
rule  among  these  hillmen,  and  it  used  to  be  the  rule  among 
the  Nosu  in  Chinese  territory  proper.  When  Chinese  rule 
became  consolidated  in  the  southern  parts  some  old-world, 
fussy  mandarins  resolved  to  stop  this  simple,  natural  method 
of  dealing  with  the  dead  and  to  compel  all  the  aboriginals 
to  copy  the  Chinese  method  of  burial,  with  all  its  revolting 
unsanitariness  and  almost  nameless  horrors.  Had  it  been 
the  other  way  about,  and  had  cremation  been  adopted  by  the 
Chinese,  it  would  have  been  a great  gain  in  many  ways. 
The  cities  of  the  dead  in  China  occupy  far  more  land  than  the 
cities  of  the  living,  and  the  amount  of  money  spent  on  the 
dead  is  almost  incredible.  What  can  be  more  horrible  and 
offensive  than  to  walk  into  the  front  room  of  some  Chinese 
friend’s  house  and  to  be  offered  a seat  near  an  awkward- 
looking  mound  right  in  the  centre  of  the  room.  As  the  cup 
of  tea  is  handed  to  you  and  you  are  sipping  it  and  inquiring 
after  the  welfare  of  the  members  of  the  household,  you  are 
conscious  of  a disagreeable  smell  which  tends  to  get  on  one’s 
nerves  and  make  one  feel  ill.  And  when  you  find  it  comes 
from  the  moimd  in  the  centre  of  the  room,  and  that  under 
this,  resting  on  the  floor,  is  the  coffin  and  corpse  of  the  father 
who  died  six  months  ago  and  has  never  yet  been  carried  out 
for  burial,  you  feel  very  queer.  Fancy  keeping  the  corpse 
of  one’s  father  or  husband  in  the  sitting-room  for  twelve 
months  or  more ! 

The  way  of  the  hill  tribes  is  better.  They  believe  in  the 


128 


FIRESIDE  YARNS 


bright  blaze  of  the  fire  and  the  cheerful  breath  of  the  winds 
for  all  those  whose  time  has  come  and  who  have  gone  forth 
to  solve  the  great  secret  of  the  other  world  which  has  been 
so  carefully  guarded,  in  spite  of  all  attempts  to  solve  it  on 
the  part  of  philosophers  and  wizards,  saints  and  mediums, 
of  many  countries  and  many  centuries.  There  has  only 
been  one  solution  of  that  great  secret,  and  that  the  one 
given  by  the  Great  Master,  who  went  down  and  came 
back  again. 

When  a parent  dies  in  a Nosu  family  there  are  greater 
ceremonies  than  on  any  other  occasion.  The  rejoicings  at 
marriage  are  quite  quiet  compared  with  the  fuss  made  when 
a father  or  a mother  goes  on  the  long,  unknown  journey. 
Relatives  from  all  parts  arrive,  and  the  crying  for  the  dead 
is  simply  marvellous.  Westerners  are  apt  to  misunder- 
stand the  mourning  and  crying  aloud  that  Orientals  indulge 
in  at  these  stated  times  of  grief.  Because  the  wailing  is 
done  at  the  proper  time,  whatever  may  be  the  state  of  the 
feelings,  we  are  apt  to  assign  an  air  of  unreality  to  the  whole. 
In  truth  it  is  nothing  of  the  kind.  We  sing  at  stated  times 
in  the  services  of  the  cathedral,  and  in  the  still  more  real 
services  of  the  whitewashed  wayside  Methodist  chapel,  and 
no  one  thinks  that  the  worshippers  are  wrong  because  the 
song  bursts  out  at  stated  times.  The  Oriental  has  organised 
his  expressions  of  grief  as  wc  have  organised  our  expressions 
of  joy  and  worship. 

At  these  ceremonies  of  the  Nosu  for  the  dead  the  ubiquitous 
wizards  come  and  go  through  their  chanting  and  masses. 
After  a few  days  of  chanting  and  lamentation  and  feasting, 
the  body  is  carried  out  to  the  hill-side  and  placed  on  the  top 
of  a large  pile  of  wood.  The  dead  person  always  wears  his 


FIRESIDE  YARNS 


129 


clothes,  and  sometimes  is  in  a coffin  as  well.  An  offering  of 
wine  is  poured  out  and  then  the  light  is  put  to  the  funeral 
pyre.  If  the  body  burns  readily  this  is  taken  as  evidence 
that  the  deceased  was  a good  man.  If  there  is  difficulty  in 
getting  the  eorpse  to  burn,  this  is  ascribed  to  the  bad  life  led 
by  the  dead  man.  I was  told  that  the  heart  and  the  buttocks 
arc  the  most  difficult  parts  of  a corpse  to  burn.  When  there 
is  nothing  left  but  a few  ashes  these  are  usually  put  into  a 
bag,  and  this  again  into  a small  box,  which  is  buried  in  the 
family  grave  hill.  There  are  no  signs,  such  as  arc  so  common 
in  China  proper,  to  indicate  which  hills  are  the  abode  of  the 
dead.  There  are  no  tombstones,  no  elaborate  carvings, 
just  the  last  passage  through  the  purifying  fire  blown  by  the 
friendly  wind  and  then  the  long,  harmless  sleep  in  the  bosom 
of  Mother  Earth.  How  much  cleaner  and  better  and  less 
harmful  than  the  mass  of  graves  which  surround  Chinese 
towns ! Outside  the  eity  of  Chaotung  the  coffins  in  the  graves 
are  often  of  the  flimsiest  nature,  and  frequently  before  one 
night  has  passed  wolves  or  dogs  have  broken  open  the  grave 
and  eoffin  and  devoured  part  or  whole  of  the  body.  Such 
sights  as  this  are  frequently  met  with,  and  rifled  graves  and 
torn  grave  clothes  can  be  seen  on  almost  any  occasion. 
Such  a sight  one  never  sees  in  Nosuland,  and  one  readily  and 
heartily  thanks  God  that  one  cannot  see  it.  Children  are 
cremated  in  the  same  way  as  the  parents.  Here  again  the 
Nosu  can  teach  the  Chinese  a lesson.  It  is  not  usual  with 
the  latter  to  bury  children  in  the  ancestral  grave  grounds. 
Having  died  young,  they  are  supposed  to  have  become 
unlucky  spirits,  and  as  such  must  at  all  costs  be  kept  out 
of  the  graveyard  where  the  venerable  ancestors  dwell.  One 
must  hold  Confucianism  responsible  for  this  unnatural 


130 


FIRESIDE  YARNS 


treatment  of  the  little  ones  who  “ go  home  ” too  early. 
Such  a fatal  flaw  as  this  in  the  great  system  of  philosophy 
associated  with  the  name  of  China’s  greatest  sage  will 
always  prevent  it  from  becoming  the  base  of  a great 
world  religion.  What  children  have  suffered  through 
parents  holding  false  ideas  of  philosophy  is  simply  appal- 
ling. One  scarcely  dares  to  tell  all  the  things  one  has 
found  out  about  child  life  and  its  sufferings  in  China.  One 
has  such  a profound  respect  and  even  liking  for  the 
Chinese,  and  a great  belief  in  their  future,  that  one  does 
not  like  to  dwell  too  much  on  this,  one  of  the  blots  on  the 
character  of  a great  people. 

Sometimes  the  hilhnen  cross  the  Yangtse  to  visit  friends  or 
relatives  in  Yunnan  and  are  taken  ill  in  Chinese  territory. 
In  such  a case  they  are  terribly  afraid  lest  they  should 
die  and  be  buried  like  the  Chinese.  The  idea  of  a cold 
burial,  without  the  warm,  comforting  blaze  of  the  cre- 
mation fire,  strikes  terror  into  these  Nosu,  and  they  long 
to  die  at  home,  where  wood  is  plentiful  and  a great  fire  is 
readily  kindled. 

While  we  were  staying  at  Ah-Pooh’s  a number  of  people 
from  the  district  aroimd  came  to  visit  us.  Among  these 
visitors  was  a regular  dandy,  dressed  in  huge  parti-coloured 
trousers.  The  tops  of  these  garments  were  blue  and  the 
bottoms  red.  The  wearer  was  a striking  feature  in  the 
crowd.  We  found  out  before  long  that  he  could  do  other 
things  than  merely  strut  about  in  his  gay  trousers.  He  and 
a friend  gave  me  a display  of  spear-fighting.  The  spears 
the  two  men  used  were  nine  yards  long.  There  are  some 
twelve  yards  long  and  some  even  longer.  The  two  men 
seized  the  spears  and  then  ran  up  and  down  a field  as  if  they 


FIRESIDE  YARNS  131 

were  meeting  an  enemy.  All  the  time  they  were  shouting 
their  war  shouts.  They  attacked  an  imaginary  enemy  by 
thrusting  their  spears  forward  and  then  jumped  sideways  or 
into  the  air  as  if  to  avoid  counter-thrusts.  The  best  weapon 
to  parry  the  long  spear  is  the  funny-looking  trident,  which 
always  reminds  one  of  Neptune  and  the  sea.  One  is  rather 
startled  to  see  that  Mars  has  stolen  Neptune’s  weapon.  If 
the  man  with  the  trident  can  beat  down  the  spear  and  run 
past  its  point  he  has  a great  advantage  over  his  opponent 
with  the  long,  unwieldy  weapon.  Then  the  dandy  and  his  com- 
panion attacked  each  other,  and  the  man  with  the  coloured 
trousers  was  decidedly  the  more  agile  and  smart.  The 
way  he  jumped  about,  avoiding  each  attack,  w’as  really 
clever.  Tliese  yoimg  men  always  go  barefoot,  and  get  used 
to  any  kind  of  road.  They  can  get  across  rough  country 
barefoot  as  easily  as  the  sandalled  Chinese  can  go  over  well- 
trodden  roads. 

After  the  spear  display  they  gave  us  an  example  of  stone- 
throwing.  Before  firearms  penetrated  into  these  hills  stone- 
throwing was  a regular  part  of  their  warfare.  The  Chinese 
tell  many  stories  of  the  way  the  Nosu,  getting  command  of  a 
higher  position,  have  beaten  off  a band  of  attacking  Chinese 
merely  by  throwing  stones.  The  dandy’s  opponent  went  up 
hill  and  then  began  pelting  him  with  clods  of  earth  in  the  same 
manner  as  he  would  have  done  with  stones  if  the  fight  had 
been  a real  one.  All  these  missiles  the  dandy  turned  aside 
! with  his  arm-protector  or  just  dodged.  All  the  yoimg  men 
wear  over  the  left  forearm  a protector  made  of  ox-hide 
covered  with  jet-black  Chinese  lacquer.  The  hide  is  so  strong 
that  with  it  they  can  easily  parry  the  cut  of  a sword  or  beat 
off  a stone  thrown  at  them.  As  I watched  the  men  knocking 


132  FIRESIDE  YARNS 

aside  the  missiles  it  struck  me  that  I could  do  that.  I asked 
them  to  try  me.  Being  their  guest,  they  were  loath  to  do  so, 
but  at  last  were  persuaded.  As  the  clods  came  to  me,  instead 
of  knocking  them  aside  I treated  them  as  if  one  were  fielding  a 
cricket  ball,  and  returned  them  home  as  quickly  as  one  could. 
I fancy  one  of  our  smart  wicket-keepers  with  a good  pair  of 
gloves  on  would  have  given  these  people  a surprise.  As 
it  was  they  thought  the  catching  of  the  missiles  was  w onderful, 
and  stories  went  about  that  nine  men  at  once  throwing  at 
the  foreigner  were  imable  to  hit  him.  I am  glad  they  never 
put  their  belief  to  the  test. 

While  we  were  watching  the  fighters  several  horses  were 
brought  for  sale.  One  of  the  friends  of  Mr  Long  wished  to  buy 
a few  horses,  and  we  had  a good  bit  of  excitement  as  these 
horses  were  being  tried.  Just  below  the  farmhouse  of  See- 
tieh  there  was  a kind  of  race-course,  oval  in  shape,  w'here  the 
young  men  constantly  gallop  their  horses.  These  men  are 
the  most  expert  riders  I have  ever  seen  in  China.  Often  they 
ride  bareback  at  a tremendous  pace,  and  often  on  a very  liard 
black  hide  saddle.  I was  very  much  interested  in  the  stirrup, 
which  was  a heavy  wooden  kind  of  shoe  polished  black.  It 
looked  almost  as  big  and  clumsy  as  a cowboy’s  stirrup.  Here 
again  I noticed  that  the  Nosu  do  not  follow  the  Chinese  ways, 
but  have  a way  of  their  own.  Tliey  always  ride  toes  in  the 
stirrup,  like  Westerners,  and  not  heels  in,  as  do  most  Chinese. 
There  is  something  to  be  said  in  favour  of  the  Chinese 
method.  The  roads  in  West  China  arc  so  rough,  and  there 
is  constant  danger  of  the  horse  slipping,  so  that  heels  in  lias 
some  advantage  over  toes  in.  If  the  horse  falls  the  rider 
can  jump  clear,  and  so  save  an  awkward  accident.  I 
always  rode  toes  in  until  one  day  my  mule  went  down 


FIRESIDE  YARNS 


133 


and  I was  caught  with  foot  in  stimip  unable  to  extricate 
myself.  After  that  escape  I learned  the  Chinese  style, 
and  now  on  the  rare  occasions  when  my  horse  slips  I can 
usually  clear  myself  easily.  I liavc  seen  one  or  two 
nasty  accidents  which  might  have  been  avoided  if  the 
riders  had  followed  the  Chinese  method.  Of  course 
when  it  comes  to  raeing  the  heels  are  no  match  for 
the  toes,  although  on  a decent  stretch  of  road,  even 
with  heels  in,  on  a good  pony  one  can  ride  at  a very 
fast  pace. 

The  finest  Nosu  rider  I ever  saw  was  a lame  man, 
who  got  about  with  the  help  of  a long  stick.  On  his 
legs  he  was  very  slow  and  clumsy,  but  put  him  on  a 
horse  which  had  any  mettle  in  it  and  the  lame  man 
was  transformed.  When  urging  the  horse  to  its  fastest 
he  would  stretch  his  legs  up  almost  level  with  the  horse’s 
neck  and  lean  backwards  as  far  as  possible,  and  then  away 
like  the  lightning.  He  would  ride  the  wildest  horse  in  this 
way,  and  could  break  in  the  roughest  of  Nosu  or  Chinese 
bronchos. 

The  prices  asked  for  the  horses  brought  for  our  inspection 
were  very  reasonable.  Ten  ounces  of  silver,  worth  then  about 
thirty  shillings,  was  the  price  of  the  best  pony  brought  there. 
I got  hold  of  a black-and-white  one  which  rendered  me 
magnificent  service  for  some  years.  It  would  take  me  up  and 
down  the  hills  in  my  district  w'ithout  ever  a mishap.  \Mien 
starting  off  on  a journey  which  he  had  been  before,  I could 
throw'  the  reins  over  his  neck,  take  out  my  book  or  newspaper 
and  read  for  hours  together.  One  had  just  now  and  again  to 
look  at  the  road  and  to  give  an  occasional  word  to  the  pony. 
He  would  face  anything  I put  him  to,  and  had  not  the 


184  FIRESIDE  YARNS 

slightest  trace  of  viciousness.  When  at  last  he  died  I felt 
that  I had  lost  a friend,  and  to  this  day  many  people  talk 
about  “ Black  and  Wliite  ” which  their  teacher  rode  for 
years. 

There  is  in  Nosuland  a race  of  diminutive  ponies  standing 
about  as  high  as  a table  and  very  much  smaller  than  a donkey. 
They  brought  one  of  these  to  us  and  asked  five  ounces  of  silver 
for  it.  I have  never  seen  such  diminutive  ponies  in  any  other 
part  of  China.  They  seem  quite  peculiar  to  Nosuland. 
One  of  the  missionaries  in  Chaotung  purchased  one  of  the 
little  ponies  for  his  children  to  ride.  It  was  not  much  larger 
than  a big  goat. 

The  day  they  brought  the  horses  and  ponies  to  us  for  sale 
they  told  me  the  story  of  a flying  pony  owned  in  the  days  of 
long  ago  by  a certain  Va-sa-neh.  This  pony  could  travel  in 
the  air  and  on  the  clouds,  going  at  a tremendous  speed.  The 
rider  could  reach  Peking  in  a couple  of  hours,  and  after  spend- 
ing a few  horn's  there  transacting  business,  he  would  return 
home  with  equal  speed.  Our  modern  air-ships  have  to  take 
a second  place  for  speed  compared  with  the  wonderful  flying 
horse  ridden  by  Va-sa-neh.  One  New  Year’s  Day  Va-sa- 
neh’s  son-in-law,  Oo-meng,  came  to  see  him,  and  received  the 
flying  horse  as  a present.  Taking  it  back  home  with  him,  his 
officers  were  very  anxious  to  see  what  the  horse  was  like. 
One  of  these  remarked  that  the  horse  was  far  too  shaggy, 
and  would  look  much  better  if  its  mane  were  cut.  This 
advice  was  forthwith  followed,  and  as  in  the  case  of  the  Old 
Testament  hero,  Samson,  with  the  cutting  of  the  locks  the 
wonderful  powers  departed.  With  the  loss  of  its  powers  no 
one  any  more  prized  the  poor  horse.  It  wandered  away  in 
the  direction  of  its  old  home,  and  one  day  the  son  of  the  old 


FIRESIDE  YARNS 


135 


master  saw  it  as  it  stood  on  the  other  side  of  a steep  ravine. 
Rushing  indoors,  he  told  his  mother  tliat  the  flying  horse  had 
returned,  for  whieh  statement  he  was  ridieuled.  The  mother, 
however,  came  out  tJo  see  the  horse  on  the  other  side  of  the 
ravine.  The  boy  ealled  and  whistled  to  the  horse  as  he  had 
done  in  the  old  days.  The  horse  immediately  grew  restless, 
and  answered  the  eall.  Instead  of  going  round  and  leading 
the  horse  home  a safe  way  the  boy  eontinued  to  whistle  'and 
eall.  The  horse  remembered  its  old  powers,  and  tried  to  fly 
aeross  the  ravine.  It  failed  to  do  so  and,  falling  to  the  bottom, 
was  dashed  to  pieees. 

Every  year  the  Nosu  north  of  the  Yangtse  are  supposed  to 
send  forty-eight  horses  as  tribute  to  Peking,  sending  them  via 
Chentu,  the  provineial  capital  of  Szechuan.  How  many  of 
these  actually  reach  Chentu,  and  whether  any  ever  reach 
Peking,  I do  not  know.  They  also  told  me  that  from  Tibet 
there  was  forwarded  every  year,  as  tribute,  three  bushels  and 
three  gallons  of  small  gold.  Of  late  years  more  Chinese  money 
has  found  its  way  to  Tibet  than  Tibetan  money  to  China. 
One  story  was  that  this  gold  was  got  from  a cave,  the  cave 
every  year  producing  just  enough  to  pay  the  tribute.  Another 
story  was  that  the  Tibetans  went  by  boat  to  a cliff  of  solid 
gold  and  knocked  off  enough  to  pay  the  amount  due.  If  their 
luck  was  good  they  knocked  off  a piece  just  sufficient.  If 
their  luck  was  bad  a huge  boulder  of  gold  rolled  off,  smash- 
ing the  boat  and  drowning  all  hands.  What  a magnificent 
burial ! Yet  I know  many  who  would  rather  be  alive  in  a 
mud  hut  than  dead  under  a mountain  of  gold.  Over  and 
over  again  I have  heard  the  Chinese  talk  of  an  Eldorado 
existing  in  Nosuland.  They  call  this  mythical  place  the 
Wan  Tan  Ping — the  ten-thousand-piculs  plain — meaning. 


136 


FIRESIDE  YARNS 


I suppose,  a plain  large  enough  to  grow  ten  thousand  pieuls 
of  riee.  They  have  also  a saying  : 

If  you  only  open  up  Wan  Tan  Ping, 

The  whole  world  will  no  more  see  hungry  men. 

This  Eldorado  is  reputed  to  be  fabulously  rich  in  gold  and 
precious  stones.  I inquired  about  it  again  and  again,  but  no 
one  knew  where  it  was.  If  it  does  exist  the  people  who  know 
of  its  existence  will  be  wise  to  keep  the  knowledge  secret. 
The  world  does  not  want  any  more  discoveries  of  large  de- 
posits of  gold,  cheapening  the  price  of  that  metal  and  sending 
up  the  prices  of  nearly  everything  else.  I have  known  and 
been  shown  places  where  aborigines  have  professed  to  have 
discovered  silver  but  have  hidden  the  knowledge  from  the 
Chinese  lest  their  neighbourhood  should  be  flooded  with  an 
influx  of  miners  and  all  the  discomfort  that  such  a rush  means 
to  peaceful  families  living  by. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


THE  FEUDAL  SYSTEM 

WE  noticed  while  in  Nosuland  that  every  household 
with  which  we  stayed  possessed  slaves  or  retainers. 
On  inquiry  we  found  out  that  this  unknown  part 
of  China  possesses  the  feudal  system  in  its  entirety.  At  the 
head  arc  the  Earth  Eyes,  or  Earth  Controllers,  corresponding 
to  the  Chief  Barons  in  the  European  Feudal  System.  Next 
to  these  come  the  Black  Nosu,  often  erroneously  called  the 
Blaek  Bones.  It  would  be  more  correct  to  call  them  Blaek 
Bloods.  Lower  than  these  are  the  White  Nosu,  also  errone- 
ously named  WTiite  Bones.  Then  follow  on  the  slaves,  who 
are  usually,  but  not  always,  white  Nosu  who  have  not  gained 
their  freedom. 

In  the  matter  of  intermarriage  among  these  three  classes 
the  caste  system  is  very  rigidly  preserved,  intermarriage  being 
practically  unknown,  and  any  approach  to  it  being  severely 
frowned  upon.  I had  a letter  a few  years  ago  from  an  Earth 
Eye,  asking  if  I could  help  him  in  a difficulty.  He  had  married 
a wife  or  tw'o,  and  had  had  no  children.  On  the  death  of  his 
proper  wives  he  became  very  fond  of  a slave  girl,  and  took  her 
to  live  with  him.  W' hen,  later  on,  a son  was  born,  he  wanted  to 
make  the  slave  girl  his  proper  wife.  Then  there  was  a storm 
among  the  relatives.  He  might  keep  up  an  irregular  union 
as  long  as  he  liked,  but  such  a thing  as  a legitimate  marriage 
with  this  low-caste  woman,  which  would  have  made  the  off- 
spring heirs  to  the  estates,  was  not  to  be  entertained  for  a 

137 


138 


THE  FEUDAL  SYSTEM 


moment.  The  Earth  Eye  begged  my  assistance,  thinking 
that  if  he  became  a Christian  he  would  be  able  to  keep  his 
slave  wife  as  his  real  wife.  If  I would  help  him  to  do  this,  and 
also  allow  him  to  continue  to  worship  the  family  gods,  he  was 
willing  to  join  the  Church.  The  letter  was  quite  a piteous 
appeal.  I went  to  see  him  later  on,  and  saw  the  slave  wife. 
But  of  course  there  was  no  joining  the  Chinch  on  the  terms 
laid  down.  Not  long  after  the  relatives  got  hold  of  the  slave, 
beat  her  cruelly,  and  then  flung  her  into  a deep  pit,  where  the 
wounded  girl  died  an  awful  death.  The  Earth  Eye  was 
nearly  frantic,  and  searched  all  about  for  her,  but  he  did  not 
discover  her  until  too  late.  He  nearly  broke  his  heart  over 
the  loss  of  the  girl,  for  whom  he  had  a strong  love. 

The  majority  of  the  land  on  which  the  Nosu  live,  whether 
in  independent  Nosuland  or  in  the  provinces  of  Yunnan  and 
Kweichow,  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Earth  Eyes.  Where  they 
have  properly  submitted  to  the  Chinese  Government,  these 
Earth  Eyes  pay  the  usual  land  tax  to  the  local  mandarins. 
The  paying  of  this  land  tax  has  been  a boon  to  many  of  these 
Earth  Eyes.  When  the  Chinese  Government  first  appointed 
officials  over  the  districts  where  the  Nosu  owned  the  land 
there  was  the  difficulty  of  the  language.  Many  of  the  Black 
Bloods  knew  nothing  of  Chinese,  and  were  very  nervous  about 
meeting  the  officials  on  the  occasion  of  tax-paying.  Some 
of  the  Earth  Eyes  set  to  work  to  study  Chinese  and  became 
quite  familiar  with  the  ways  of  the  officials’  yamens.  When 
they  had  reached  this  point  they  generously  offered  the 
Black  Bloods  their  assistance.  The  latter  were  only  too 
thankful  to  agree.  The  Earth  Eyes  then  paid  the  taxes  for 
the  others,  and  as  an  acknowledgment  of  this  kindness  a gift 
of  a goat  or  a sheep  was  made  at  the  time  of  the  tax-paying. 


THE  FEUDAL  SYSTEM 


139 


Later  on  the  officials  demanded  the  registration  of  all  the 
land,  and  the  Earth  Eyes  not  only  registered  their  own  lands 
in  their  own  names,  but  registered  the  lands  of  the  confiding 
Black  Bloods  as  well,  also  in  their  own  names.  Before  long 
they  claimed  these  lands  as  their  own,  and  an  appeal  to  the 
official  registers  confirmed  their  claims.  In  this  way  the 
Black  Bloods  were  done  out  of  a lot  of  their  land,  and  have 
had  no  redress.  Sometimes  the  Earth  Eyes  have  been  weak 
men,  and  then  the  Black  Bloods  have  tried  to  wrest  back  their 
lands,  and  here  and  there  they  have  succeeded  in  doing  so. 

As  a rule  the  Earth  Eyes  retain  a part  of  the  land  for  their 
own  immediate  use.  Of  the  rest  a part  is  rented  out  to 
tenants,  who  enjoy  a fairly  good  fixity  of  tenure,  and  the 
rest  is  apportioned  at  a very  nominal  rental  to  the  Black 
Bloods  who,  in  addition  to  the  various  services  they  have 
to  render  to  their  overlords,  pay  a nominal  rental,  often  in 
kind.  The  rent  is  just  large  enough  to  keep  evident  the 
overlord’s  title  to  the  land.  In  some  cases  a horse  and  an  ox 
have  to  be  paid  to  the  overlord  by  each  generation,  and  a 
goat  every  three  years. 

The  Black  Bloods  have  to  render  fealty  to  the  Earth  Eyes, 
and  when  visiting  them  have  to  perform  the  kotow.  The 
Earth  Eyes  can  demand  their  services  at  any  time,  and  when 
any  fighting  has  to  be  done  they  must  bring  their  men 
properly  armed  and  provisioned,  ready  to  defend  their  Earth 
Eye  from  attack,  or  to  make  attack  on  his  behalf.  Now  that 
the  Chinese  Government  is  being  more  firmly  established 
over  the  lands  where  the  Nosu  own  most  of  the  soil,  fighting 
is  not  so  general  as  it  used  to  be,  but  even  now,  in  piu’ely 
Chinese-governed  territory  a year  never  passes  without  some 
record  of  tribal  fighting  which  engages  a lot  of  men  and  leads 


140  THE  FEUDAL  SYSTEM 

sometimes  to  loss  of  life.  The  Black  Bloods  in  return  for 
their  lands  must  put  their  lives  and  services  at  the  disposal 
of  the  overlords,  who  sometimes  rule  them  with  a rod  of  iron. 
I know  one  Black  Blood  who  dare  not  ride  a horse  in  the 
district  where  he  lives  because  the  overlord  has  forbidden 
that  privilege  to  Nosu  of  the  second  rank.  When  talking 
to  me  about  the  affairs  in  his  neighbourhood  the  Black  Blood 
saved  his  face  by  ascribing  his  not  riding  a horse  to  some  other 
reason,  but  I found  out  the  true  reason  why  he  always  walked. 
I know  it  was  a real  deprivation,  because  to  a Nosu  a horse 
is  almost  as  necessary  as  to  an  Arab  of  the  desert. 

Nearly  all  the  Earth  Eyes  and  Black  Bloods  keep  a number 
of  White  Blood  retainers,  some  of  whom  are  slaves,  with  their 
property,  persons  and  family  at  the  absolute  disposal  of 
their  masters.  These  retainers  again  have  portions  of  land 
assigned  to  them,  and  pay  for  this  land  in  personal  service. 
They  also  have  to  hold  themselves  in  readiness  to  respond  to 
their  lord’s  call,  and  to  fight  for  him  and  even  lay  down  their 
lives  if  so  commanded.  I visited  some  of  the  slaves’  homes, 
and  saw,  hung  on  the  wall  of  each  house,  weapons  and  a bag 
of  oatmeal.  In  the  bag  are  also  a thin  copper  basin  and  a 
spoon.  The  weapons  must  always  be  in  readiness  and  the 
bag  full.  Whenever  there  is  trouble  or  the  overlord  needs 
help  in  fighting  the  ram’s  horn  is  blown  from  the  lord’s 
castle  or  residence,  and  as  soon  as  the  warning  sound  is  heard 
the  retainer  seizes  his  bag  of  oatmeal,  ties  it  over  his  shoulder, 
takes  his  weapons  in  his  hands  and  hastens  to  the  sound  of 
the  ram’s  horn.  It  is  astonishing  how  far  the  sound  of  these 
horns  carry.  In  some  places  the  aborigines  who  have  become 
Christians  call  their  companions  to  worship  by  the  blowing 
of  one  of  these  horns.  The  hole  is  not  at  the  end  of  the  horn. 


THE  FEUDAL  SYSTEM 


141 


but  at  the  side.  Some  of  the  boys  who  blow  these  horns  can 
make  the  sound  travel  a long  distance. 

In  a very  short  time  after  the  blowing  of  the  horn  at  the 
lord’s  residence  there  is  gathered  together  a band  of  men  all 
armed  and  provisioned  for  four  or  five  days.  As  most  of  the 
fighting  takes  place  near  home,  or  at  most  but  two  or  three 
days’  journey  away,  the  bag  of  oatmeal  is  quite  suflicient  for 
a sudden  raid  or  for  defence  against  such  a raid. 

In  addition  to  military  service,  the  retainers  have  to  help 
farm  the  overlord’s  personal  land,  ploughing,  sowing,  hoeing, 
reaping  and  liarvcsting.  They  also  iiave  to  provide  so  much 
firewood  each  year,  also  so  many  pigs,  sheep  and  fowls  for 
the  lord’s  table.  If  the  latter  is  a man  who  lias  many  guests, 
then  the  demands  for  his  table  are  many  and  a constant 
strain  on  his  retainers.  Besides  the  retainers  who  live  on 
the  land  there  are  a certain  number  who  are  Iiousthold 
servants  or  slaves,  and  these  have  to  be  near  the  lord  and 
lady  on  all  occasions.  If  their  master  is  kind  and  generous, 
then  their  lot  is  fairly  comfortable,  and  many  of  them  would 
not  have  their  freedom  if  it  meant  their  leaving.  I iiave 
known  some  of  them  refuse  to  be  wholly  free  because  in  that 
case  they  would  be  liable  to  attack  at  any  time  with  no  one 
to  defend  them.  Tlie  lord  is  supposed  to  take  up  the  quarrels 
of  his  men  and  to  fight  for  them  if  he  considers  their  cause 
is  just.  They  can  appeal  to  him  at  any  time,  and  so  a quarrel 
between  the  slaves  of  two  Earth  Eyes  often  leads  to  a big 
quarrel  between  the  overlords. 

Sometimes  the  lords  will  compound  the  duties  of  their  re- 
tainers and  slaves  for  a sum  of  money.  So  much  will  purchase 
their  freedom  from  the  duty  of  farming  their  lord’s  land,  so 
much  for  supplying  his  fuel  or  his  table,  but  I have  never 


142 


THE  FEUDAL  SYSTEM 


heard  that  any  sum  of  money  will  compound  for  military 
service.  Of  com’se  if  the  slaves  purchase  their  entire  freedom 
and  leave  the  clan  the  lord  has  no  claim  whatever  on  their 
services.  Not  many  prefer  to  do  this  ; they  all  like  to  have 
some  claim  on  the  central  authority. 

When  the  slaves  are  old  enough  to  marry  they  are  mated 
by  their  lords  or  mistresses.  In  many  cases  attention  is 
paid  to  preference  shown  by  the  interested  parties.  The 
offspring  of  such  marriages  become  the  slaves  of  the  overlord 
and  are  at  his  disposal.  I do  not  find  that  slaves  are  often 
sold  out  of  the  clan,  but  in  the  case  of  the  marriage  of  the 
daughter  of  an  Earth  Eye  or  a Black  Blood  several  slaves  are 
sent  with  her  as  part  of  her  dowry.  In  accordance  with  a 
similar  custom  Leah  and  Rachel  took  their  slaves  with  them 
into  Jacob’s  family.  These  dowry  slave  girls  are  married 
later  on  in  the  clan  which  the  daughter  enters.  Sometimes 
these  waiting-maids  serve  tyrants  of  mistresses.  One  such 
maid  came  to  me  one  day,  carrying  her  child,  an  infant  in  arms. 
She  had  said  something  in  the  hearing  of  another  servant 
which  was  not  very  complimentary  to  the  beauty  of  her 
mistress.  Gossip  and  intrigue  for  favour  exist  in  these  Nosu 
households  as  well  as  in  other  households  nearer  the  West, 
and  so  the  mistress  got  to  hear  of  the  uncomplimentary  re- 
mark of  her  maid.  The  mistress  got  into  a fury,  sent  for  the 
offender,  and  with  a red-hot  iron  seared  her  face  so  as  to  spoil 
her  beauty  for  ever.  In  her  fit  of  passion  she  burnt  the  face  of 
the  little  child  as  well.  This  was  but  mild  comj)ared  to  some  of 
the  punishments  the  lords  and  their  ladies  inflict  on  the  slaves 
who  offend  them.  I have  heard  of  some  cases  details  of  which 
one  cannot  print  in  any  book  published  in  Christendom. 

Now  and  again  slaves  run  away,  and  then  there  is  raised 


THE  FEUDAL  SYSTEM 


143 


the  hue  and  cry.  Tliere  is  a saying  that  a master  will  seek 
his  runaway  slave  even  if  he  has  to  go  through  all  the  nine 
districts  of  the  Empire.  I know  one  Earth  Eye  whose  slave 
ran  away,  leaving  his  wife,  whom  he  was  fond  of,  behind. 
The  master  knew  how  the  runaway  liked  Iiis  wife,  and  reckoned 
on  his  returning  to  get  her  away  also.  So  he  said  nothing, 
but  waited.  True  to  these  calculations,  the  slave  returned 
home  one  night.  Some  traitor  gave  the  alarm,  and  the  run- 
aw'ay  was  captured.  The  next  morning  the  Earth  Eye  led 
the  slave  outside  of  the  castle  to  a grassy  mound  near  by. 
Here  the  lord  compelled  the  offender  to  kneel  down,  and  with 
his  oAvn  long  sword  cut  his  head  off.  This  was  a warning  to 
his  other  slaves.  There  was  no  redress  in  this  case,  nor  in  any 
similar  case.  It  is  interesting  to  note  tliat  some  time  after 
another  slave  of  tliis  same  overlord  won  the  affections  of 
his  master’s  young  daughter  and  eloped  with  her.  The  girl 
was  recaptured  but  the  slave  escaped. 

Over  and  above  all  the  services  rendered  by  the  retainers 
which  Iiave  been  mentioned,  the  vassals  have  to  make  money 
payments  on  certain  occasions  which  are  specified,  and  on 
as  many  other  occasions  as  the  overlord  is  powerful  enough 
to  enforce.  Such  occasions  are  the  marriages,  deaths  and 
burials  of  any  members  of  the  lord’s  family.  The  levies  put 
on  the  retainers  and  slaves  at  such  times  are  hot  heavy, 
but  the  fact  of  their  having  no  fixed  rate  makes  the  impost 
a source  of  constant  friction. 

\Mien  one  lord  dies,  and  the  heir  succeeds  to  the  estates, 
there  is  usually  trouble  all  roimd.  The  trouble  is  caused  by 
the  custom  of  what  is  termed  “ changing  tenancies.”  Every 
tenant  or  vassal  has  to  renew  his  tenancy  of  land  from  the 
new  lord.  This  is  often  made  the  excuse  for  raising  of  rents 


144 


THE  FEUDAL  SYSTEM 


or  for  a demand  of  silver.  So  lucrative  is  such  an  opportunity 
that  even  before  the  lord  is  dead  a “ changing  of  tenancies  ” 
takes  place.  Sometimes,  however,  the  tenants  are  obstinate 
and  the  lord  is  weak,  and  then  he  finds  it  very  difficult  to  levy 
his  imposts . Occa  sionally  the  tenants  will  refuse  all  payments, 
and  if  they  are  powerful  enough  to  continue  in  this  passive- 
resistance  policy,  in  time  the  land  becomes  recognised  as  their 
own.  Several  feudal  estates  have  been  broken  up  in  this  way 
until  such  time  as  one  of  the  tenants  or  vassals  gets  strong 
enough  to  usurp  the  position  of  overlord  and  to  compel  his 
equals  to  render  homage  to  him.  In  this  way  another  Earth 
Eye  is  evolved  and  the  old  story  works  its  way  over  again. 

I remember  a case  in  which  the  tenants  ransomed  their 
overlord  from  prison.  One  of  the  Earth  Eyes  south  of  the 
Yangtse  got  into  trouble  with  the  Chinese  Government,  and 
was  captured  and  imprisoned.  An  almost  impossible  ransom 
was  demanded  by  the  officials.  An  attempt  was  made  by 
the  Earth  Eye’s  family  to  get  the  tenants  on  the  estate  to 
gather  the  ransom  money.  One  village  went  hunting  musk 
deer  and  were  very  fortunate  in  their  efforts.  They  managed 
to  get  twenty  pounds’  weight  of  musk  and  with  this  satisfied 
the  demands  of  the  rapacious  officials.  In  return  for  this 
gift  on  the  part  of  the  villages,  the  Earth  Eye  gave  them  the 
right  over  a large  portion  of  his  lands  and  wrote  an  agreement 
to  that  effect.  The  agreement  I have  seen,  but  it  was  only 
kept  as  long  as  it  suited  the  family  of  the  overlord.  The 
value  of  the  musk  would  be  about  ten  thousand  ounces  of 
silver.  A magnificent  ransom  indeed  ! 

One  can  easily  sec  by  the  several  incidents  related  that 
the  feudal  system  among  the  Nosu  north  and  south  of  the 
Yangtse  is  similar  to  tliat  which  existed  in  Europe  during 


Tiik  Mountain  Cavu.k  oi-  Eaimm  Kvk  Eo 


THE  FEUDAL  SYSTEM 


145 


the  Middle  Ages.  There  is,  however,  one  particular  in  which 
the  system  is  not  complete.  The  king  holds  no  position  in 
this  system.  Above  the  overlords  the  system  changes  into 
the  ordinary  Chinese  mandarin  rule.  The  peculiarity  of  the 
system  as  it  exists  south  of  the  Yangste  is  that  it  exists 
side  by  side  with  the  ordinary  Chinese  land  system,  which 
consists  in  nominal  land  nationalisation,  with  land  taxes 
paid  as  the  chief  tax  of  the  country.  Private  ownership 
exists  within  this  national  ownership,  and  is  as  certain  as 
private  ownership  in  Pmgland  or  America,  except  that  when 
land  is  needed  for  public  works  it  is  taken  without  hesitation 
at  a nominal  compensation.  If  such  were  the  state  of  the 
land  question  in  England,  how  cheaply  our  railways  and  public 
works  could  have  been  built.  Unfortunately  our  English 
Earth  Eyes  have  long  ago  taken  their  toll  of  all  theseworks  and 
by-and-by  the  country  ^^'ill  have  to  pay  heavily  for  the  fact 
that  in  land  matters  England  has  not  been  so  wise  as  China. 

In  the  district  south  of  the  Yangtse  the  feudal  system  is 
doomed  to  fall  before  long.  It  will  probably  exist  in  inde- 
pendent Nosuland  for  many  decades  and  possibly  genera- 
tions. One  force  helping  to  bring  the  system  to  an  end  in 
the  southern  district  is  the  irresponsible  character  of  many 
of  the  feudal  lords,  the  Earth  Eyes.  Were  the  true  story  of 
these  written,  just  as  it  could  be  written,  concerning  the  last 
fifty  years  only  it  would  make  lively  reading,  and  if  it  were 
thoroughly  understood  by  the  thinking  Chinese  they  would 
demand  an  inunediate  end  of  this  anomalous  system  and  an 
introduetion  of  the  ordinary  land  system  of  the  whole  coxmtry, 
which  can  hardly  be  improved  on  except  at  the  expense  of 
some  such  terrible  revolution  as  changed  once  for  all  the 
oppressive  land  system  of  France. 


CHAPTER  XIV 


STORIES  ABOUT  EARTH  EYES 

Here  are  some  of  the  stories  I have  picked  up  about 
the  Nosu  Earth  Eyes  during  the  few  years  I have 
come  in  contact  with  them.  Just  before  Dr  Sun 
Yat-sen  brought  about  his  great  revolution  in  China  in  the  year 
1911,  when  the  Manchu  dynasty  had  come  to  its  last  days,  one 
of  the  Earth  Eyes  in  Nosuland  was  engaged  in  a long  struggle 
with  some  other  aborigines  over  the  eternal,  never-ending 
land  question.  His  lands  bordered  on  the  district  governed 
by  the  Chinese  officials  of  Ning-yuan  Fu,  and  by-and-by 
these  officials  came  out  and  took  part  in  the  inter-tribal 
struggle.  They  took  the  side  against  the  Earth  Eye  who  is 
named  Lo-chee.  When  Chinese  officials  enter  into  a struggle 
of  this  kind  there  is  bound  to  be  treacherous  developments. 
All  is  fair  in  love  and  war.  The  official  at  any  rate  believes 
that  all  means  are  lawful  if  they  ensure  the  capture  of  the 
enemy.  It  is  only  as  China  comes  into  the  light  of  Western 
civilisation  that  she  obeys  the  rules  of  the  game,  and  then 
only  when  she  is  struggling  with  other  Powers.  In  settling 
her  own  internal  difficulties  she  still  adopts  any  methods 
which  may  appear  advantageous  to  her  and  respects  no 
promises  made  to  her  enemies.  Before  long  Lo-chee  was 
trapped  and  carried  off  by  the  soldiers  to  the  city  of 
Ning-yuan.  Here  he  was  sentenced  to  twenty  years’  im- 
prisonment, which  in  a Chinese  prison,  as  they  then  existed, 
practically  meant  a life  sentence.  When  this  news  got  abroad 

146 


STORIES  ABOUT  EARTH  EYES 


147 


in  the  districts  south  of  the  Yangtse  many  persons  gave  a great 
sigh  of  relief.  This  Earth  Eye  has  been  one  of  the  most  cruel 
men  this  class  of  landlords  has  ever  produced,  and  his  enemies 
are  very  numerous.  It  was  in  his  castle,  south  of  the  great 
river,  that  I first  saw  him  and  discovered  what  kind  of  a man 
he  was.  On  his  estates  there  are  a large  number  of  Christians, 
who,  when  they  first  commenced  to  read  the  Book,  wished  to 
erect  a small  chapel  where  they  could  gather  together  for 
worship.  Lo-chee,  however,  has  bitterly  opposed  all  efforts 
in  that  direction,  and  has  at  times  cruelly  persecuted  some 
of  those  who  have  dared  to  accept  the  teachings  of  the 
foreigner.  Thinking  that  a long  prison  sentence  might  have 
modified  his  opposition,  I sent  a letter  to  the  prison  in  Ning- 
yuan,  asking  him  to  permit  his  tenants  to  erect  the  building 
they  were  desirous  of  seeing  built.  The  reply  came  in  due 
time  that  if  I w ould  use  my  influence  and  get  him  out  of  prison 
he  would  himself  build  a chapel  and  subscribe  a thousand 
ounces  of  silver  to  the  work  I was  overseeing.  Of  course  this 
condition  was  an  impossible  one,  even  if  I had  desired  to 
fulfil  it.  It  was  the  great-grandfather  of  this  man  who  owed 
his  release  from  prison  to  the  present  of  the  twenty  pounds 
of  musk  which  the  fortunate  village  himters  had  obtained. 
And  it  w as  the  descendants  of  these  hunters  who  had  turned 
Christian  and  wished  to  erect  their  place  of  worship  and  study. 
When  these  men  first  became  converts  their  overlord,  the 
Earth  Eye,  adopted  a very  stem  attitude,  and  threatened  with 
all  kinds  of  penalties  any  of  his  tenants  who  should  dare  to 
go  against  his  wishes.  I went  across  with  some  of  my  helpers 
to  visit  him  and  to  see  if  we  could  induce  him  to  adopt  a 
different  attitude  to  his  people.  I was  a guest  in  his  castle 
for  three  days,  and  got  to  know  a good  bit  about  this 


148  STORIES  ABOUT  EARTH  EYES 


remarkable  man.  He  treated  me  most  hospitably,  buts  bowed 
stem  hostility  to  the  work  I was  doing.  I found  him  a man 
of  thirty-three  years  of  age,  and  a great  drinker  of  spirits  and 
smoker  of  opium.  He  had  had  foiu*  Nosu  wives,  who  were  all 
dead,  and  had  married  three  others,  who  were  still  living. 
Among  the  many  questions  we  discussed  was  the  “ woman  ” 
question.  He  saw  me  writing  a letter  to  my  wife  which  I 
wished  to  send  back  from  his  castle.  He  laughed  at  me  for 
doing  this  and  derided  me  as  a man  who  w'as  afraid  of  his 
wife.  I smiled,  and  wondered  what  would  have  happened 
had  he  had  a wife  such  as  I had.  A little  later  on  he  retrieved 
the  situation.  He  had  been  reading  a small  medical  book 
giving  advice  to  mothers  on  the  bringing  up  of  little  children. 
When  he  saw  that  the  title-page  bore  the  Chinese  name  of  the 
woman  he  accused  me  of  being  afraid  of,  he  remarked  : “ Well, 
if  I had  a wife  who  could  w'rite  a book  like  that  I also  would 
respect  her.” 

When  he  described  to  me  the  stern  way  in  which  he  ruled 
his  harem  I suggested  that  some  of  the  women  might  imitate 
the  Chinese  women  and  seek  refuge  from  their  hard  lot  in 
suicide.  He  flared  up  at  the  suggestion,  and  said  he  would 
cut  in  pieces  any  wife  of  his  that  dared  to  attempt  such 
tricks.  He  told  me  that  he  and  his  wives  all  slept  in  one 
room,  where  arms  of  several  kinds  are  kept  in  readiness  to 
deal  with  any  sudden  or  treacherous  attack.  Having  killed 
so  many  of  his  enemies  in  his  many  fights,  he  is  always  afraid 
of  revenge,  and  so  never  quits  his  arms  night  or  day.  The 
bedroom  is  well  loopholal,  and  there  are  guns  kept  constantly 
loaded.  The  wives  have  also  been  trained  to  load  these 
weapons  that  they  may  be  of  assistance  in  time  of  need. 
From  his  windows  this  Earth  Eye  can  overlook  a lot  of 


STORIES  ABOUT  EARTH  EYES 


149 


country,  and,  at  night,  if  in  any  quarter  he  heard  an  unusual 
rustling  he  usal  promptly  to  fire  in  the  direction  whence  the 
sound  came  so  as  to  be  first  with  any  possible  enemies. 
When  this  little  habit  of  his  became  known  everylxxly  gave 
the  neighbourhood  of  his  castle  a wide  berth,  except  in  broad 
daylight.  He  has  possibly  most  to  fear  from  assassins 
within  the  home,  who  might  be  bought  over  to  get  rid  of  him. 
Just  inside  the  bedroom  door  there  is  a deep  pit  covered  over 
with  a trap  door  which  is  shut  firmly  in  the  daytime.  At 
night  the  pit  is  opened,  and  anyone  who  tried  to  get  in  by 
the  door  would  probably  find  himself  a prisoner  in  the  pit 
at  once,  and  at  the  mercy  of  one  who  shows  none.  Three 
men  were  hired  by  another  Earth  Eye  to  kill  this  Lo-chee. 
They  managal  to  get  right  into  the  castle,  but  were  caught 
before  they  had  carried  out  their  plans.  The  Earth  Eye  who 
had  hired  them  had  promised  each  of  them  two  “ tings  ” of 
silver  if  they  sueceeded  in  assassinating  Lo-chee.  The  ting 
of  silver  weighs  over  ten  ounces  and  is  in  shape  like  a half 
of  an  orange.  Being  examined  by  torture,  the  men  confessed 
who  had  hired  them  and  what  had  been  the  promised  reward. 
The  Earth  Eye  then  said  that  they  should  not  be  cheated  out 
of  their  two  tings,  for  he  would  himself  give  them  such. 
There  and  then  he  ordered  his  underlings  to  cut  off  the  knee- 
caps from  each  of  the  captured  men.  This  was  done,  and 
taking  these  up  Lo-chee  threw  them  into  the  laps  of  the  gowns 
of  the  wounded  men  and  told  them  to  take  their  reward  and 
go.  The  men  died  in  agony.  There  was,  of  course,  no  appeal 
from  the  barbarism  of  this  Earth  Eye.  Every  care  was  taken 
to  let  this  news  be  carried  abroad,  that  other  attempts  at 
assassination  might  be  discouraged.  The  men  who  were 
so  cruelly  treated  were  two  Mohammedans.  In  his  early  days 


150  STORIES  ABOUT  EARTH  EYES 


Lo-chee  had  had  a lot  of  quarrels  with  Mohammedans,  and 
many  of  them  are  waiting  for  a favourable  opportunity  to  get 
even  with  the  man  who  has  caused  so  many  of  them  to  suffer. 

As  long  as  I stayed  in  this  Earth  Eye’s  home  I,  of  course, 
persisted  in  my  attempts  to  persuade  him  to  accept  Christi- 
anity. He  told  me  almost  at  once  that  he  would  rather  lose 
his  head  than  become  a Christian.  He  said  that  if  the  then 
Emperor  of  China  accepted  Christianity,  and  issued  a rescript 
ordering  all  his  subjects  to  follow  his  example  on  pain  of 
death,  he  would  be  one  who  would  refuse  to  obey.  “ And  if,” 
said  he,  “ the  officials  captured  me  and  took  me  out  to  execu- 
tion, I would  curse  your  Jesus  every  step  I took  on  my  last 
march.”  I do  not  for  the  life  of  me  know  why  the  man  was 
so  bitter  in  his  opposition.  I do  not  know  that  he  had  ever 
come  across  Christians  before.  Very  possibly  he  made  up 
his  mind  on  the  strength  of  the  many  rumours  which  were 
so  rife  all  over  the  Empire  in  the  latter  days  of  the  Manchus. 
It  makes  one  shudder  to  think  of  the  terrible  stories  that  were 
told  everywhere  of  the  foreigners  and  the  religion  they 
practised.  If  I had  been  a Chinaman  and  believed  all  these 
stories  I should  have  been  very  bitter  against  every  foreigner 
who  landed  in  my  country.  The  responsibility  of  fostering 
these  cruel  lies  rested  on  the  governing  classes  of  China,  who 
attempted  to  defeat  all  foreign  influence  by  disseminating 
these  stories,  which  spread  like  wildfire  in  those  bad  old  days. 
Whatever  was  the  cause,  it  was  only  too  patent  that  Lo-chee 
was  determined  to  block  all  Christian  influences  to  the  fullest 
extent  of  his  power. 

When  this  man  was  younger  and,  as  an  orphan,  was  in  full 
control  of  all  his  estates,  he  made  affairs  as  lively  as  possible 
for  all  neighbouring  landlords.  He  led  his  bands  right  and 


STORIES  ABOUT  EARTH  EYES  151 


left,  and  wherever  he  found  enemies  he  destroyed  them. 
It  is  estimated  that  he  murdered  at  least  two  hundred  people, 
and  in  order  to  destroy  all  traces  of  his  crimes  he  burnt  the 
corpses  of  those  whom  he  killed.  No  wonder  that  he  dreads 
the  working  of  the  law  of  revenge,  which  is  so  powerful  in  all 
districts  where  Nosu  dwell.  One  long  struggle  he  had  was 
with  another  Earth  Eye  by  the  name  of  An  (Peace).  There 
was  a piece  of  land  in  dispute  which  both  claimed,  and  they 
had  several  fights  over  the  matter,  in  which  retainers  on  both 
sides  lost  their  lives.  At  last  a Chinese  mandarin,  with  the 
usual  eye  to  the  main  chance,  persuaded  the  two  men  to 
bring  the  case  to  his  court,  where  he  promised  to  decide  it 
justly.  The  two  Earth  Eyes  agreed.  Knowing  something 
about  the  ways  of  Chinese  justice,  Mr  An  paid  in  eight 
hundred  ounces  of  silver  to  the  official.  Lo-chee  was  duly 
informed  of  this,  and  he  offered  the  same.  An  then  went  up 
to  a thousand,  and  was  followed  by  the  other.  Then  An 
increased  his  promise  to  twelve  hundred,  and  the  case  was 
decided  in  his  favoirr  by  this  auctioneer  of  a mandarin.  An, 
however,  only  paid  down  a thousand,  and  so  the  Chinese 
official  left  the  case  open  for  reconsideration.  What  he 
evidently  expected  happened,  and  Lo-chee  promptly 
trumped  the  cards  of  his  opponent  by  a still  bigger  bribe. 
He,  of  course,  found  that  he  had  justice  on  his  side,  and  the 
disputed  land  was  awarded  to  him.  Mr  An,  however,  refused 
to  take  any  notice  of  the  decision,  and  the  law  took  no  steps  to 
enforce  its  findings.  Things,  therefore,  remained  as  they  were, 
except  that  somebody’s  pocket  was  considerably  heavier. 

While  this  official  was  trying  the  case  and  emptying  the 
money  bags  of  the  two  Earth  Eyes,  his  son  called  on  Lo- 
chee,  and  seeing  that  he  had  a large  number  of  slave  girls  in 


152  STORIES  ABOUT  EARTH  EYES 


his  establishment,  he  asked  that  one  of  them  might  be  given 
to  him.  Lo-ehee  agreed  to  this  request,  and  called  all  the 
girls  of  the  establishment  together.  Then  he  told  the 
mandarin’s  son  to  make  his  choice.  Here,  however,  the  girls 
struck.  They  were  desperately  annoyed  and  made  a big 
row.  They  absolutely  refused  to  go  to  the  Chinaman  at  any 
price.  Possibly  they  knew  that  they  would  have  the  secret 
sympathy  of  their  master,  however  he  might  curse]  them  for 
their  obstinacy  in  the  presence  of  the  son  of  the  official  whose 
favour  he  wished  to  purchase.  The  feelings  of  the  young 
fellow  were  appeased  by  sending  to  the  city  of  Chaotung, 
where  a Chinese  girl  was  purchased  and  presented  to  him. 

WTien  the  revolution  broke  out  there  was  a general  amnesty 
proclaimed  and  many  prisoners  were  released.  Lo-chee 
thus  found  himself  a free  man  again,  and  came  back  to  his 
estates  south  of  the  Yangtse,  where,  after  a while,  he  resumed 
his  stern  sway  over  the  country-side  as  if  he  had  never  been 
away.  The  officials,  however,  in  the  district  where  he  lives, 
have  their  eye  on  him,  and  seem  determined  to  get  him  sooner 
or  later  and  break  his  power.  Up  until  now,  however,  he 
has  defied  all  their  efforts.  During  the  stem  anti-opium 
campaign,  when  great  efforts  were  made  to  uproot  all  the 
poppy  grown,  a military  official  and  a band  of  soldiers  went 
around  the  different  districts  to  see  that  the  Government 
commands  were  properly  obeyed.  It  was  rumoured  that 
this  official  had  orders  to  capture  Lo-chee.  The  Earth  Eye, 
however,  seems  to  have  got  hold  of  this  information,  and 
when  the  official  and  his  soldiers  entered  the  castle  to  discuss 
the  carrying  out  of  the  anti-opium  campaign  they  were 
startled  to  see  over  a hundred  armed  men  all  lined  up  to 
receive  them.  The  soldiers  wished  to  try  conclusions,  but 


An  Earth  Eyis  Widow  A Nosu  and  uis  Daughiek 

Kuler  of  tliouiaiuls  of  acres  smoking  her  water-inire, 


STORIES  ABOUT  EARTH  EYES  153 


the  officer  wisely  refrained.  To  him  discretion  was  the  better 
part  of  valour.  He  left  the  Earth  Eye  for  a more  convenient 
season.  Lo-chee  is  still  in  his  castle,  ruling  his  tenants  with 
a rod  of  iron,  training  hundreds  of  men  for  the  day  when  the 
Chinese  soldiers  shall  make  a real  attempt  to  break  once  for 
all  the  power  of  this  wild  outlaw  Earth  Eye.  When  this  effort 
is  made  in  earnest  it  will  surely  succeed,  as  similar  efforts  have 
succeeded  with  some  who  were  stronger  even  than  Lo-chee. 

The  very  reverse  of  this  man  is  found  in  an  Earth  Eye  who 
lives  forty  miles  farther  south.  He,  in  common  with  many 
more  of  his  class,  has  often  shown  a fierce,  cruel  disposition, 
but  has  failed  to  carry  this  out  consistently.  Consequently 
some  of  his  retainers  have  broken  right  away  from  him,  re- 
fusing not  only  the  ordinary  duties  of  the  feudal  system  but 
also  the  slightest  rent  for  their  land.  \Mien  I first  went  to 
visit  this  ]\Ir  Ah-yee  I found  his  castle  in  a most  dilapidated 
condition,  and  there  was  not  a single  decent  room  in  the  whole 
set  of  buildings.  Like  all  other  Nosu,  he  is  very  fond  of 
horses.  On  one  occasion  I found  in  his  stables  a fiery  horse 
that  smoked  tobacco  and  whinnied  for  it  if  he  were  deprived 
of  it  for  any  length  of  time.  The  Earth  Eye  would  go  down 
and  stand  near  the  manger,  smoking  a long  pipe.  The  horse 
w'ould  stretch  out  its  neck  and  sniff  up  the  tobacco  smoke 
with  great  avidity,  showing  extreme  delight  as  he  did  so. 
Possibly  owing  to  this  habit,  in  w'hich  his  master  indulged 
him,  the  creature  was  quite  thin. 

Earth  Eye  Ah-yee  has  two  boys  and  a girl,  and  as  the  girl 
grew  there  were  suitors  for  her  hand.  One  young  Earth  Eye 
was  keen  on  finding  out  what  kind  of  girl  she  was,  and  deter- 
mined to  visit  her  home  in  disguise.  One  day  a band  of 
wandering  players  and  conjurers  strolled  into  the  courtyard 


154  STORIES  ABOUT  EARTH  EYES 


and  offered  to  perform  for  the  amusement  of  Ah-yee  and  his 
household.  The  whole  establishment  turned  out  into  the 
yard,  and  among  them  the  young  girl.  She  entered  as  heartily 
into  the  fun  as  any  of  the  others.  After  the  players  had  gone 
away  Ah-yee  discovered  that  in  the  band  was  the  young 
Earth  Eye  who  wanted  his  daughter.  The  enterprising  young 
fellow  had  bribed  the  strollers  to  let  him  be  one  of  their  band 
temporarily,  and  on  their  consenting  had  led  them  to  his 
would-be  father-in-law’s  home.  He  enjoyed  the  adventure 
very  much,  and  saw  all  that  he  wished  to  see.  The  father  of 
the  girl  was  wild  at  what  he  termed  the  great  insult,  and 
said  that  if  he  had  found  it  out  in  time  he  would  have  given  the 
suitor  a sound  thrashing.  I wonder  whether  the  girl  repented 
at  not  having  dressed  in  her  very  best  on  the  occasion  of  the 
clandestine  visit  of  her  lover.  Later  the  enterprising  young 
fellow  came  to  a terrible  end,  and  the  girl  he  wanted  was  given 
as  second  wife  to  his  uncle,  a man  old  enough  to  be  her  father. 

While  I was  staying  with  Ah-yee  I noticed  that  he  had  a 
tailor  at  work  making  a number  of  garments.  One  of  these 
garments  was  of  red  flannel  and  had  a number  of  Nosu  words 
worked  on  the  front.  Ah-yee  told  me  that  these  were  a charm 
which  would  protect  the  wearer  of  the  garment  whenever  he 
was  in  a fight  or  in  great  trouble.  He  gave  me  one  such 
garment  later  on.  I have  had  no  need  to  test  the  protective 
qualities  of  this  magic  garment,  and  am  afraid  the  donor  did 
not  believe  the  yarn  he  told  me  about  the  wonderful  red  jacket. 

These  great  Earth  Eyes  are  frequently  the  prey  of  wizards 
and  necromancers.  Lo-chee,  in  spite  of  his  seven  wives,  had 
no  son.  A necromancer  was  consulted  and  he  gave  it  as 
his  verdict  that  the  castle  was  built  in  the  wrong  position, 
so  interfering  with  the  hidden  influences  of  the  soil.  In 


STORIES  ABOUT  EARTH  EYES  155 


obedience  to  this  verdict  the  stem  Earth  Eye  who  had  so 
defied  all  the  teaching  of  the  Christians  pulled  his  castle  right 
down,  and  at  great  expense  rebuilt  it  less  than  half-a-mile 
away.  Since  the  necromancer’s  advice  has  been  carried  out 
there  have  been  one  or  two  births  in  the  harem,  which  are 
always  announced  as  sons.  In  some  strange  way  these  sons 
of  Lo-chee,  when  they  grow  up,  turn  into  daughters.  Last 
year  there  was  another  bulletin  announced,  and  it  was  to  the 
effect  that  one  of  the  Mrs  Lo-chees  had  presented  her  husband 
with  a son.  It  is  too  early  yet  to  know  whether  the  great 
change  will  take  place  with  this  one  also.  Let  us  hope,  for 
the  father’s  sake,  that  it  will  remain  a son.  Possibly  if  there 
were  an  heir  to  the  estates  the  great  Earth  Eye  would  be  more 
amenable  to  reason  and  the  dictates  of  humanity. 

A few  years  ago  the  principal  building  in  another  Earth 
Eye’s  castle,  where  Lo-chee’s  daughter  went  as  wife,  formed 
a peculiar  landmark  in  the  district.  The  castle  is  built  on  the 
extreme  point  of  a steep  hill  at  the  foot  of  which  two  rivers 
run  to  a junction.  Except  to  modem  gvms,  the  castle  is 
almost  impregnable.  In  the  days  when  it  was  built  it  was  so. 
The  main  building  was  all  awry.  One  end  of  it  was  nearly 
twice  as  wide  as  the  other,  and  the  appearance  of  the  crooked 
roof,  narrow  on  the  north  side  and  wide  on  the  south,  was 
most  uncanny.  In  passing  by  one  wondered  what  kind  of  a 
place  there  could  be  on  the  top  of  the  steep  cliff.  Wizards 
had  been  at  work  again,  and  by  their  advice  this  bizarre 
building  had  been  erected  in  this  wild  place  so  difficult  of 
access.  No  luck  has,  however,  come  to  the  three  brothers 
living  there,  for  in  spite  of  seven  or  eight  wives  between  them, 
I have  never  heard  of  the  birth  of  a son  and  heir  to  the  great 
castle  and  immense  estates. 


CHAPTER  XV 


MORE  ABOUT  EARTH  EYES 

Another  Nosu  Earth  Eye  with  whom  I got  very 
friendly  was  named  An  Yong-chi  (Peaee  which 
glories).  This  was  the  one  that  had  such  a long 
struggle  with  Lo-ehee,  and  carried  the  case  to  the  auctioneer 
official.  If  one  could  only  write  fully  the  story  of  his  house, 
there  would  be  enough  incident  to  fill  several  books.  He 
claimed  to  be  the  descendant  of  the  most  important  of  the 
ancient  Nosu,  when  these  people  were  powerful  throughout 
a great  part  of  China.  If  there  were  to  arise  a Nosu  king 
his  family  would  claim  the  right  to  occupy  the  throne.  As, 
however,  a score  or  hundred  of  others  would  do  likewise, 
there  would  not  be  a very  peaceful  reign  for  any  of  the 
claimants.  An’s  mother  was  stolen  when  a young  girl  by 
his  father,  who  was  determined  to  have  lier  for  wife,  in  spite 
of  all  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  parents,  who  had  decided 
to  let  their  daughter  go  only  to  a suitor  who  would  pay  a great 
sum  for  her.  Tlie  suitor  sent  his  emissaries  to  bribe  over 
some  of  the  slaves  in  the  girl’s  home,  and  through  them 
found  out  when  the  powerful  men  of  the  household  would  be 
absent  on  some  pressing  business.  Such  a favourable  opjwr- 
tunity  coming  around,  An’s  father  took  a band  of  several 
hundred  men  and  with  these  forced  his  way  into  the  girl’s 
father’s  castle  and  kidnapped  the  damsel  he  had  set  his 
heart  on.  She  became  his  wife  de  facto  if  not  de  jure,  and 
after  all,  among  these  lawless  Nosu,  it  is  that  that  counts. 

156 


MORE  ABOUT  EARTH  EYES  157 

When  the  father  returned  there  was,  of  couise,  a great  row, 
and  steps  were  taken  to  avenge  the  insult.  But  there  were 
found  means  to  appease  wrath,  and  by-and-by  things 
settled  down,  and  the  lady  became  the  mistress  of  the  home 
of  one  of  the  most  important  Nosu  chiefs.  This  kind  of 
kidnapping  is  very  common  and  is  copied  even  by  the  poor 
Chinese  who  have  become  tenants  of  the  Nosu  landlords. 
One  day  I met  a band  of  men,  with  spears  and  swords,  going 
down  a hill  Avhich  I was  ascending.  Tliey  did  not  look 
very  warlike,  and  seemed  more  as  if  they  were  out  for  a big 
lark.  Asking  where  they  were  going,  they  informed  me 
that  they  were  off  to  steal  a wife.  I did  not  feel  tempted 
to  join  them,  though  I should  like  to  have  seen  how  they 
managed,  and  whether  the  reality  W'as  anything  like  w'e 
schoolboys  had  pictm’ed  when  we  were  taught  by  sober 
British  schoolmasters  to  sing : 

Oh,  who  will  o’er  the  downs  so  free, 

Oh,  who  will  with  me  ride. 

Oh,  who  will  up  and  follow  me. 

To  win  a blooming  bride? 

The  reality  did  not  quite  look  like  om’  dreams  of  youth. 
The  bride  to  be  stolen  was  on  another  landlord’s  estate. 
Tliough  I resided  the  temptation  to  carry  out  the  buccaneer 
principles  instilled  so  unthinkingly  into  me  years  ago,  I 
w'as  interested  enough  to  follow  the  case  up,  and  felt  rather 
glad  that  they  got  the  girl,  and  hope  they  lived  together 
happily  every  afterwards.  Some  folk  out  here  are  all  in 
favour  of  such  marriages,  as  they  do  away  with  expensive 
ceremony  and  much  trouble.  Some  of  the  girls  are  also  in 
favour  of  it.  It  is  fine  to  live  in  a state  of  romantic  un- 
certainty, expecting  a band  of  armed  men  and  an  eager 


158 


MORE  ABOUT  EARTH  EYES 


bridegroom  to  come  along  any  day,  bent  on  the  capture  of 
a bride,  whose  virtues  and  accomplishments  have  become 
known  far  away  from  home.  Youth  is  the  time  of  romance 
even  on  the  hills  of  Western  China,  and  the  rich  folk  have  by 
no  means  a monopoly  of  this  romance. 

As  An  Yong-Chi  grew  up  he  took  to  the  study  of  Chinese, 
and  later  on,  at  a neighbouring  town,  entered  the  lists  for  the 
coveted  degree  of  B.A.,  which  carried  great  weight  under 
the  rule  of  the  Manchus.  He  succeeded  in  the  struggle,  and 
was  very  proud  of  his  literary  accomplishments.  On  one 
occasion  I presented  him  with  a Bible.  He  returned  it  later 
on,  saying  that  he  could  write  a better  book  than  that,  and 
asking  me  to  give  him  a modern  pistol  instead.  This  was 
rather  a take-down  for  an  enterprising  missionary.  These 
rebuffs,  however,  do  not  dishearten  one,  for  one  takes  them 
all  as  part  of  the  day’s  work  and  fun.  And  it  is  good  to  meet 
a man  who  has  a great  idea  of  his  own  attainments.  After 
all,  it  is  not  so  rare  to  find  men  who  place  higher  value  on 
weapons  of  war  than  on  the  Bible,  and  these  do  not  all  live 
outside  of  Europe  and  Christendom.  Still,  it  was  a bit 
startling  to  find  a man  whose  name  was  “ Peace  which 
glories  ” so  desirous  to  possess  an  up-to-date  pistol. 

On  my  return  from  furlough  in  1910,  I was  very  sorry  to 
hear  that  Mr  An,  the  Earth  Eye,  was  dead.  His  enormous 
estates  were  left  to  his  two  sons,  who  were  both  under 
twenty  years  of  age.  The  story  of  this  young  Earth  Eye, 
the  second  of  the  two  brothers,  is  one  of  the  most  tragic 
stories  I have  ever  heard,  and  I have  heard  a great  many 
while  living  in  West  China.  He  it  was  who  disguised  him- 
self as  a strolling  player,  to  get  a good  look  at  the  pretty 
daughter  of  Ah-yee.  As  long  as  the  father  was  alive  the 


MORE  ABOUT  EARTH  EYES  159 

boy  kept  himself  within  reasonable  bounds,  and  no  one  ever 
dreamed  of  the  fate  which  awaited  him,  a fate  comparable 
to  the  first  great  tragedy  which  broke  in  on  the  happiness  of 
man.  After  the  father’s  death,  the  boy  lost  all  control  over 
himself,  and  gave  himself  up  to  unbridled  dissipation.  He 
came  and  lived  not  far  from  where  I am  writing  this  story, 
and  soon  had  the  whole  country-side  in  a state  of  terror. 
Being  one  of  the  overlords  of  these  immense  estates,  on 
which  are  more  than  a hundred  villages  and  market-towns, 
he  could  do  almost  as  he  liked,  and  none  dared  to  oppose. 
The  stories  of  his  sudden  raids  on  the  homes  of  the  people, 
and  the  terrible  orgies  he  gave  himself  up  to,  seem  almost 
incredible,  but  they  are  vouched  for  as  true.  He  tried  to 
kidnap  a young  bride  one  day,  and  this  led  to  a gathering 
of  the  clans,  bent  on  murdering  him,  if  he  dared  to  appear. 
The  folk  were  driven  to  desperation.  Seeing  the  opposition 
he  had  provoked,  he  retired  for  a while.  Then  came  rumours 
of  great  trouble  between  the  two  brothers.  The  elder  brother 
had  been  lately  married,  and  the  younger  brother  got  too  free 
with  the  bride.  A great  quarrel  ensued,  and  at  last  it  seemed 
as  if  the  young  rake  were  plotting  to  kill  his  elder  brother, 
in  order  to  appropriate  the  bride  to  himself.  The  elder 
brother  quickly  made  up  his  mind,  and  determined  that  if 
one  had  to  die  it  should  not  be  he.  He  then  sent  off  and 
hired  a noted  Chinese  boxer,  who  was  willing  to  do  any  cruel 
deed  for  a consideration.  The  boxer  was  promised  a large 
sum  of  money  if  he  would  assassinate  the  younger  brother. 
He  agreed  to  the  terms,  and  one  night,  in  the  castle,  the 
terrible  deed  was  performed.  The  young  fellow  fought  hard 
at  first,  and  it  looked  as  if  he  would  succeed  in  getting  away. 
But  others  came  to  the  assistance  of  the  boxer,  and  in  spite 


160 


MORE  ABOUT  EARTH  EYES 


of  all  the  beggings  and  entreaties  of  the  young  fellow,  who 
was  but  a big  boy,  he  was  killed  right  out.  There  was  no 
one  to  stop  Cain  and  his  murderous  tools.  After  the  fell 
deed  was  completed,  the  boxer  disappeared  for  a while,  and 
the  body  was  duly  buried.  But  the  story  of  Cain  repeated 
itself.  No  peace  came  to  the  elder  brother.  I went  to  see 
him,  and  found  him  full  of  terror.  Ghosts  appeared  in  the 
castle  every  night.  The  spirit  of  the  murdered  man  haunted 
the  place.  It  seemed  almost  as  if  the  brother  who  was 
living  would  go  mad  under  the  strain  of  terror.  I never 
heard  that  he  was  sorry  for  his  cruel  action.  It  was  sheer 
terror  of  the  spirit  of  the  dead.  Then  some  black  wizard 
came  on  the  scene,  and  said  that  blood  could  only  be  atoned 
for  by  blood,  and  that  the  dead  man  would  never  lie  quiet 
in  his  grave  until  sacrifice  had  been  made  to  him.  This 
wizard’s  advice  was  followed,  and  steps  were  taken  to  per- 
form the  sacrifice.  The  boxer.  Mi’  Peng,  was  sent  for  to 
receive  the  balance  of  the  blood  money,  and  he  came  quite 
unsuspectingly.  He  duly  reached  the  castle  where  the 
fell  deed  had  been  committed,  and  was  lodged  in  a temple 
outside  the  walls.  He  was  well  fed  and  hospitably  enter- 
tained, with  promise  of  payment  on  the  morrow.  Tired 
with  his  journey,  he  went  to  sleep,  possibly  thinking  of  the 
silver  that  was  soon  to  be  his.  During  the  still  hours  of  the 
night  the  servants  of  the  Cain  Earth  Eye  crept  into  the 
tcm])le,  and  swiftly  and  suddenly  bound  the  sleeping  boxer. 
Had  he  been  awake  he  undoubtedly  would  have  made  a big 
struggle  for  his  life,  and  more  blood  might  have  been  shed 
before  superior  numbers  overpowered  him.  Bound  like  a 
pig,  Mr  Peng  the  great  boxer  was  taken  in  the  dead  of  night 
to  the  grave  of  the  murdered  Earth  Eye.  Here  he  was 


MORE  ABOUT  EARTH  EYES 


161 


offered  up  to  the  dead  man.  First  of  all  he  was  stripped,  and 
gashes  were  cut  in  his  back  with  a sword.  Into  these  gashes 
ceremonial  candles  were  stuck,  and  these  were  lighted  for 
the  dead.  What  must  have  been  the  feelings  of  the  living 
sacrifice  one  cannot  imagine.  When  the  candles  had  burnt 
right  out,  the  boxer  was  cut  into  six  pieces  and  the  severed 
corpse  was  thrown  away  for  wolves  or  dogs  to  devour.  The 
spirit  of  the  boxer  was  in  this  way  supposed  to  be  sent 
into  the  underworld,  to  have  it  out  with  the  spirit  of  the 
murdered  Earth  Eye.  Fumiy  place  the  Hades  imagined  by 
these  people  must  be ! 

Nothing  was  ever  done  by  the  oflicials  in  connection  with 
these  inhuman  crimes.  Relatives  came  down  on  the  elder 
brother,  but  their  one  idea  was  blackmail  under  threat  of 
vengeance.  These  indignant  relatives  were  all  placated  by 
gifts  of  land  from  the  estates  of  the  elder  brother. 

Peace  has,  however,  not  come  to  this  modern  Cain.  He 
wanders  about  from  place  to  place,  and  has  often  come  over 
to  see  me.  Two  years  ago  he  spent  Christmas  with  us,  and 
helped  to  share  our  English  Christmas  dinner.  There  was 
another  Earth  Eye  at  the  same  table,  and  he  also  was  a 
murderer — that  is,  has  caused  others  to  lose  their  lives  in  the 
manner  so  common  among  these  landed  gentry  of  China’s 
Western  Hills.  Tlie  pair  did  not  form  a very  inspiring  com- 
pany to  share  a good  plum- pudding  with.  My  wife,  however, 
tried  to  make  them  comfortable,  and  though  it  was  as  if 
Pilate  and  Herod  were  gathered  around  the  table  of  the 
Peasant  of  Galilee,  we  managed  to  forget  most  of  the  troubles 
of  the  past  in  the  joys  of  the  present. 

This  second  Earth  Eye  was  on  one  occasion  captured  by 
the  officials,  and  thromi  into  prison  at  Chaotung  Fu.  Not 

L 


162 


MORE  ABOUT  EARTH  EYES 


long  before  this,  still  another  Earth  Eye  had  been  captured 
in  the  same  way,  in  the  same  city,  and  had  been  summarily 
executed.  No  wonder  that  these  landlords  give  the  cities 
where  the  officials  live  a wide  berth.  They  all  know  that 
there  are  crimes  sufficient  laid  at  their  doors  to  warrant  the 
execution  of  nearly  every  one  of  them.  This  second  Earth 
Eye  who  had  Christmas  dinner  with  us,  when  he  found  him- 
self in  durance  vile,  determined  to  leave  no  stone  unturned. 
He  managed  to  bribe  some  of  the  people  about  him,  and  so 
got  arrangements  made  for  escape.  Some  of  his  retainers 
brought  his  swiftest  horse  one  night,  and  waited  outside  the 
city  wall.  A confederate  dug  through  the  earth  wall  of  the 
prison,  and  through  this  hole  the  prisoner  escaped.  A short, 
quiet  run  brought  them  to  the  city  wall,  down  which  there 
was  no  great  difficulty  in  climbing.  Jiimping  on  the  magni- 
ficent horse  which  knew  him,  and  was  waiting  for  him,  the 
escaped  landlord  fled  for  his  life.  Had  he  been  overtaken, 
he  would  in  all  probability  have  been  executed  the  same 
day.  It  was  indeed  a very  frightened  man  that  fled  through 
that  night.  His  trusty  horse  served  him  well,  as  if  he  knew 
what  depended  on  his  efforts,  and  by  morning,  horse  and 
rider  were  both  over  the  borders,  and  in  another  province 
safe  from  the  pursuit  of  the  Chaotung  officials.  Very  few 
Earth  Eyes  have  had  so  near  an  escape  as  that.  A poor 
horse  might  have  been  his  undoing.  We  had  a ride  together 
once,  the  Nosu  Earth  Eye  on  his  faithful  horse,  and  I on  my 
little  black-and-white  Nosu  pony. 

There  is  a sister  also  to  the  two  brothers  who  quarrelled 
so  tragically.  She  also  has  had  her  full  share  of  trouble, 
and  has  been  the  heroine  in  more  than  one  terrible  incident. 
She  was  married  into  a family  with  the  territorial  name  of 


MORE  ABOUT  EARTH  EYES  163 

Shoh-ec.  It  cost  her  husband  ten  thousand  ounces  of  silver 
to  win  his  bride.  Not  long  after  the  marriage  I rested  one 
night  in  her  husband’s  castle,  and  was  hospitably  treated. 

The  mother-in-law  received  us  in  the  guest  hall,  and  squatted 
on  the  floor,  smoking  her  long  pipe  while  we  talked  to  her. 
She  was  nervous,  as  she  had  never  had  a foreigner  in  her 
house  before.  The  young  husband  soon  after  marriage 
became  very  ill,  and  it  was  seen  that  he  was  in  a rapid  con- 
sumption. Being  the  only  son,  and  just  married,  this 
threatened  serious  trouble  on  the  estates,  in  case  he  died. 
Many  cures  were  tried  but  none  were  successful,  and  the 
young  eonsumptive  Earth  Eye  soon  left  his  bride  a widow. 
In  the  absence  of  male  issue,  an  uncle  came  forward  and 
claimed  the  estates,  and  from  this  time  forward  there  was 
persistent  fighting  and  trouble.  The  unele  called  on  all  the 
tenants,  and  demanded  their  allegiance,  under  tlneat  of  dire 
punishment  if  they  refused.  The  widow  and  the  dowager 
lady  resisted  these  attempts  for  a long  time,  but  evidently 
these  women  were  not  made  of  such  stern  stuff  as  the  mother 
of  Ml’  Long,  who  so  successfully  fought  all  the  claimants  to 
her  lands.  Some  months  after  the  death  of  the  husband 
a son  was  said  to  have  been  born,  and  of  course  that  made  a 
change  in  the  state  of  the  struggle.  The  uncle  and  his 
party  said  that  the  baby  was  one  purchased  from  a poor 
Chinese  family,  and  they  gave  the  name  of  the  hamlet  where 
this  family  lived.  They  refused,  therefore,  to  recognise  the 
new  heir  to  the  estates.  Just  at  this  point,  the  officials 
got  hold  of  the  case.  They  have  a keen  eye  for  a case  that 
spells  money  for  their  pockets,  while  they  leave  severely 
alone  most  of  the  terrible  tragedies  that  are  such  a disgrace 
to  many  of  these  country-sides.  The  disputants  appeared, 


164 


MORE  ABOUT  EARTH  EYES 


therefore,  in  the  Chinese  law  courts,  to  continue  the  struggle. 
Everybody  thought  that  the  only  way  in  which  the  widow 
could  prove  the  child  genuinely  her  own  was  by  suckling 
it  in  open  court.  The  mandarin  adopted  this  test,  but  did 
it  in  such  a way  as  to  carry  no  conviction  to  some  of  the 
onlookers.  They  evidently  forgot  that  some  of  these  officials 
never  want  a cause  celebre  like  this  settled  off  too  quickly. 
The  cow  must  be  milked  quite  dry  before  it  is  sent  back  to 
its  pastures.  The  mandarin  stated  in  court  that  the  child 
had  actually  taken  the  widow’s  milk,  and  therefore  must  be 
genuine.  The  opposing  side  said  that  it  was  the  official 
who  had  done  the  drinking,  by  swallowing  a large  bribe, 
and  that  there  was  no  trace  of  milk  in  the  widow’s  breast. 
But  the  case  was  won  pro  tern,  by  the  widow.  She  realised, 
however,  that  that  was  not  the  end  of  the  matter,  and  that 
the  struggle  would  be  continued  for  a long  time  yet.  She 
determined  to  look  about  for  stronger  protection  than  she 
then  possessed.  Several  days’  journey  away  lived  another 
Earth  Eye,  named  Peh-eye.  He  was  the  strongest  man  in 
all  his  district,  and  ruled  almost  absolutely,  keeping  hun- 
dreds of  armed  retainers  and  slaves  to  enforce  his  bidding. 
Some  middle  person  approached  him,  and  told  him  about 
the  widow  who  had  such  difficulty  in  keeping  her  husband’s 
estates.  Mr  Peh-eye  offered  to  marry  the  widow  and  de- 
fend her  lands  against  all  comers.  The  fact  that  he  was 
very  much  married  already  made  no  difference  to  the 
arrangement.  The  chivalrous  protector  came,  married  the 
widow,  and  with  his  strong  bands  of  armed  men  soon  fought 
off  all  claimants  to  the  estates.  His  ruthless  way  of  dealing 
with  enemies  soon  struck  terror  into  the  whole  district. 
His  men  made  his  word  law.  Woe  to  anybody  who  disputed 


MORE  ABOITT  EARTH  EYES 


165 


his  findings,  or  showed  any  independence  when  his  men 
were  about.  Two  men  incurred  the  enmity  of  some  of  his 
followers,  and  paid  terribly  for  their  temerity.  The  house 
in  which  these  two  men  lived  was  surrounded  at  night,  and 
at  the  first  break  of  dawn  Peh-eye’s  men  burst  in,  ca})tured 
the  two  offending  men,  and  there  and  then  killed  them. 
They  then  added  barbarism  to  lawlessness,  by  eutting  out 
the  hearts  and  tongues  of  the  dead  men.  Tliese  they 
cooked  at  the  fire,  in  the  house  where  the  murder  was  com- 
mitted, and  devoured.  They  kncAv  that  this  story  would  go 
all  about,  and  strike  fear  into  all  who  were  faint-hearted. 
For  a while  the  widow  who  had  married  this  terrible  Earth 
Eye  enjoyed  rest  from  her  enemies,  and  it  seemed  as  if  no 
one  would  further  dispute  her  title  to  the  estates,  nor  the 
genuineness  of  any  offspring  she  might  have.  But  as  in  the 
case  of  many  of  these  tyrants,  Peh-eye  went  too  far.  At  the 
time  of  the  Revolution  in  1911  the  new  regime  began  to 
inquire  into  the  actions  of  this  terrible  man.  He  resented 
all  attempts  to  reduce  him  to  any  kind  of  order,  and  defied 
the  provisional  government.  He  had  managed  to  steer  his 
way  safely  through  all  the  rocks  and  shoals  of  official  inter- 
ference in  the  Manchu  days,  and  thought  that  he  would  be 
able  to  do  the  same  with  the  republicans.  Here  he  made  a 
profound  mistake.  An  official  and  a few  men  made  a visit 
to  his  own  castle  to  talk  over  matters.  Before  long,  high 
words  were  used  and  a quarrel  broke  out.  Seeing  that  the 
official’s  retinue  w'as  but  small,  Peh-eye  became  very  over- 
bearing, and  used  threats.  At  last  he  ordered  all  his  armed 
men  to  line  up,  and  gave  the  command  to  put  the  official  to 
death.  At  first  this  man  hardly  realised  that  the  Earth 
Eye  meant  what  he  said,  but  as  he  began  to  realise  that  he 


166 


MORE  ABOUT  EARTH  EYES 


was  in  earnest,  the  offieial  of  the  new  republic  adopted  a 
different  tone,  and  begged  for  his  life.  After  having  done 
this  in  a most  craven  way,  the  great  landlord  relented,  and 
let  him  leave  in  safety.  Peh-eye  was  one  of  many  who 
presumed  that  the  new  regime  would  only  last  a short  time, 
and  that  the  next  set  of  rulers  might  be  as  easily  dealt  with 
as  were  the  money-loving  auctioneer  offieials  of  the  Manehu 
dynasty.  The  Chinese  official  did  not  forget  that  he  had 
kotowed  to  a Nosu  Earth  Eye,  and  determined  to  wipe  out 
this  disgrace.  He  swore  to  have  revenge,  and  earried  out 
his  oath  to  the  very  end.  He  sent  in  such  a report  to  head- 
quarters that  before  long  troops  were  dispatched  to  make 
an  end  of  the  rule  of  the  Earth  Eye,  who  had  for  so  long 
reigned  over  his  neighbourhood.  Several  fights  took  place 
near  to  Peh-eye’s  castle,  and  in  these  the  troops  did  not 
always  come  off  victorious.  They  stuck,  however,  to  their 
task,  inspired  on  by  the  official  who  was  bent  on  wiping  out 
insult.  At  last  Peh-eye  was  driven  to  take  refuge  in  a large 
cave,  and  here  he  offered  a desperate  resistance.  All  his 
efforts,  however,  were  of  no  avail.  He  was  not  now  up 
against  a eorrupt  mandarin  who  preferred  money  to  all  else, 
and  who  was  willing  to  let  trouble  remain,  so  as  to  be  a 
souree  of  more  income  later  on.  He  was  now  dealing  with 
men  who  were  going  to  take  everything,  lands,  money,  life 
and  all.  It  was  extermination  and  not  compromise  that 
was  to  be  the  end  of  this  struggle.  All  offers  and  entreaties 
were  refused,  and  at  last  a shot  rendered  the  terrible  Earth 
Eye  hors  de  combat.  The  cave  was  then  rushed  and  the  body 
of  the  great  leader  was  deeapitated.  The  head  was  exposed 
in  the  city  where  the  insulted  offieial  lived,  that  everybody 
might  know  that  he  had  wiped  out  fully  the  insult  which 


MORE  ABOUT  EARTH  EYES 


167 


the  Nosu  had  given  to  the  Chinese  Government  offieer.  All 
the  lands  of  the  great  Earth  Eye  were  confiseated  and  sold. 
So  were  the  lands  of  the  daughter  of  “ Peaee  whieh  glories.” 
She  had  found  no  safe  refuge  after  all  in  the  powerful  pro- 
tection of  the  chief  who  had  terrorised  the  whole  neighbour- 
hood. She  now  wanders  around  with  her  son,  trying  to 
make  something  turn  up.  The  last  I heard  about  her  was 
that  she  was  at  Lo-chee’s  trying  to  get  him  to  marry  her 
in  addition  to  his  other  wives,  taking  all  her  claims  to  the 
confiscated  lands  as  her  dowy.  Should  there  be  another 
change  of  government,  there  may  be  a sequel  to  the  troubles 
of  the  young  widow,  whose  life  has  been  so  full  of  fighting 
and  tragedy. 

An  uncle  of  this  young  widow,  also  named  An  (Peace),  was 
one  of  those  placated  by  a gift  of  territory  on  the  murder  of 
his  nephew  by  the  Cain  Earth  Eye.  He  was  justly  indignant 
at  this  murder,  but  is  quite  willing  himself  to  break  laws  when 
it  is  to  his  o\\Ti  advantage.  He  was  married  to  the  elder 
of  two  sisters,  but  he  heard  that  Rachel  was  better-looking 
than  Leah.  He  then  set  to  work  to  get  the  younger  sister  as 
well.  He  persuaded  his  wife  to  invite  her  sister  over  on  a 
visit.  Being  a young  girl  in  her  teens,  the  invitation  was 
gladly  accepted,  as  promising  a welcome  change  from  the 
monotony  of  her  own  home.  \Mien  on  her  way,  and  still 
some  distance  from  the  married  sister’s  home,  a band  of  armed 
men  met  the  chair  in  which  the  girl  was  riding  and  proceeded 
to  take  charge  of  the  cavalcade.  A long  piece  of  red  cloth 
was  thrown  over  the  chair  as  a sign  that  the  girl  was  about  to 
become  a bride.  It  was  no  use  to  protest,  as  the  girl  was 
quite  defenceless  in  the  hands  of  the  armed  men,  who  knew 
all  too  well  what  to  do  in  such  cases.  The  girl  had  expected 


168 


MORE  ABOUT  EARTH  EYES 


to  arrive  at  the  castle  as  a guest,  and  here  she  was  taken  as 
an  unwilling  bride.  The  guest  was  kidnapped  to  be  the 
second  wife  of  her  sister’s  husband.  Wlien  the  outrage 
reached  the  ears  of  the  girl’s  people  there  was,  of  course,  a 
great  row,  for  as  a bride  to  another  husband  the  girl  was 
worth  many  thousands  of  ounces  of  silver.  But  possession 
was  again  nine  points  of  the  law,  and  the  Earth  Eye  held  on 
to  the  girl  who  had  had  such  a surprise  on  her  arrival  at  her 
sister’s  home.  Mr  An  wooed  the  new  arrival  so  persistently 
that  at  last  she  consented  to  his  plan,  and  the  two  sisters 
were  thus  wives  to  the  same  husband.  Perhaps  in  their 
fondness  for  each  other  they  imagined  that  the  arrangement 
would  work  out  smoothly.  If  they  did  so,  they  were  deceived^ 
for  there  was  constant  trouble  and  jealousy.  The  father  was 
furious,  but  furious  among  these  Nosu  chiefs  can  usually  be 
translated  into  so  many  hundreds  of  oimces  of  silver.  With 
the  passage  over  of  these  hundreds  of  ounces  of  silver  the 
friends  were  placated  and  Leah  and  Rachel  were  left  to  work 
out  a problem  which  has  never  been  simple  of  solution.  The 
matter  became  somewhat  tragic  as  the  affections  of  the  * 
Earth  Eye  centred  more  and  more  on  the  sister  with  the 
prettier  face.  A few  years  after  the  death  of  Rachel  reduced 
the  household  to  the  condition  in  which  it  was  before  the 
kidnapping  of  the  unsuspecting  guest.  The  husband  will 
probably  never  fully  regain  the  affections  of  the  first  wife. 

There  are  two  sons  of  Earth  Eyes  in  the  mission  school 
where  I am  writing.  One  is  a gentle,  intelligent  lad,  who 
hopes  later  on  to  complete  his  education  in  an  English 
university.  The  other  is  a wild  young  rascal,  who  is  even 
now  capable  of  almost  any  wickedness.  Tliere  is,  however, 
something  fascinating  about  him,  and  we  are  all  only  too 


MORE  ABOUT  EARTH  EYES 


169 


willin"  to  do  what  wc  can  to  help  him  in  his  many  troubles. 
His  aunt  has  tried  to  get  him  murdered  so  that  she  may,  as 
next-ol‘-kin,  appro])iiatc  his  lands  for  her  two  boys.  She  has 
managal  to  get  his  brother  imprisoned  for  life,  and  now 
there  is  just  this  one  young  fellow  between  her  and  the  realisa- 
tion of  her  ambition.  There  was  a big  row  here  once  when 
another  Nosu  came  to  school,  and  it  was  suspected  after  a 
while  that  his  principal  motive  in  coming  was  to  assassinate 
the  young  fellow  who  was  in  his  aunt’s  way.  The  dagger 
that  was  to  have  done  the  deed  is  in  the  safe  keeping  of  a 
fellow-missionary,  and  has  as  its  comjjanion  a long,  ugly  but 
very  sharp  sword,  covered  with  dried  blood,  the  blood  of  an 
old  man  who  lived  just  across  the  valley  from  here,  near  the 
magnolia-tree.  The  murderer  threw  the  sword  away  when 
he  escaped  after  his  foul  deed. 

The  land  where  Nosu  Earth  Eyes  rule  means  a land  w^here 
there  are  intrigue,  lawlessness,  gross  immorality,  robbery, 
rape,  murder  and  much  else  that  is  horrible  to  contemplate 
and  still  more  horrible  to  come  into  close  contact  with.  Now 
that  the  corrupt  rule  of  the  Manchu  auetion  over  mandarins 
has  ended  it  is  time  the  Chinese  Government  broke  once  for 
all  the  pow'er  of  these  lawless  Earth  Eyes.  It  is  a blot  on  the 
civilisation  of  Giina,  and  should  be  wiped  out  if  China  ever 
wishes  to  be  reckoned  one  among  the  pow’ers  of  the  earth. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

MORALITY  OF  THE  ABORIGINALS 

ONE  of  the  Nosu  who  went  aeross  the  Yangtse  with  us 
was  a relative  of  the  people  who  lived  at  the  See-tieh 
farmstead.  Going  outside  the  house  on  one  oceasion, 
I saw  a number  of  the  slave  girls  of  the  establishment 
“ ragging  ” this  young  fellow  in  a more  lively  way  than  he 
seemed  to  relish.  They  were  pushing  and  pulling  him  about 
quite  roughly,  and  apparently  very  mueh  enjoying  the  fun. 
The  young  fellow,  being  alone,  was  no  match  for  this  lively 
bevy  of  farm  girls.  Ragging  is  more  common  among  Orientals 
than  has  been  supposed.  One  can  pick  up  some  lively 
stories  of  the  ragging  of  Chinese  bridegrooms  by  the  women 
of  the  household  when  he  takes  his  bride  home  to  her  friends 
on  the  third  day  after  the  wedding.  Here  again  we  found 
that  in  Nosuland  the  scene  we  looked  on,  where  the  young  man 
was  getting  quite  the  worst  of  the  fun,  was  in  accordance 
with  Nosu  customs.  If  a young  man  pays  a visit  to  any  of 
his  relatives  the  women  and  slave  girls  of  the  household  are 
allowed  to  get  what  fun  they  can  out  of  the  visitor.  If  he 
objects,  this  only  adds  more  fuel  to  the  fire  of  the  fun.  If  he 
is  good-natured  and  joins  in  as  heartily  as  the  rest  he  wins 
the  respect  of  the  girls,  which  is  quite  worth  winning.  One 
part  of  the  fun  is  to  get  a gourd  of  water  and  try  to  throw 
it  all  over  the  visitor.  He,  of  course,  knows  what  to  expect, 
and  is  on  his  guard  and  pays  them  back  as  well  as  he 
can. 

170 


MORALITY  OF  THE  ABORIGINALS  171 


My  (’hinese  “ boy,”  seeing  this  ragging  going  on,  wondered 
why  this  Nosu  relative  took  it  all  so  meekly.  He  resolved 
to  go  to  the  rescue.  lie  had  the  usual  Chinese  ideas  of  the 
inferiority  of  women,  and  though  he  himself  has  a wife  who 
is  far  smarter  than  he,  and  knows  how  to  rule,  he  still  keeps 
up  the  fiction  that  women  are  inferior,  and  should  always  be 
submissive  to  their  husbands.  As  soon,  however,  as  the 
Chinaman  went  to  the  rescue  of  the  ragged  man  the  Nosu 
girls  gave  him  such  a time  of  it  that  he  was  glad  to  clear  out 
in  quick  time,  a wiser  man.  The  girls  were  having  fun 
with  the  relative,  but  with  the  Chinese  it  would  have 
been  dead  earnest,  and  he  was  wise  enough  to  take 
the  hint.  He  resolved  not  to  interfere  in  family  affairs, 
even  though  his  Chinese  sense  of  propriety  was  grossly 
outraged. 

In  the  relations  of  the  sexes  the  aboriginals  of  West  China 
differ  widely  from  the  Chinese.  The  purdah  and  the  zenana 
are  unknown  among  the  former.  In  fact  they  have  gone  to 
the  other  extreme.  Men  and  women  freely  mix  together,  and 
talk  without  restraint.  With  the  majority  of  the  tribes  and 
clans  this  has  resulted  in  gross  immorality.  One  reason  why 
the  Chinese  so  despise  the  aboriginals  is  that  the  latter  are 
so  openly  immoral  and  engage  in  practices  which  are  abhorrent 
to  Chinese  ideas.  It  does  not  follow  for  one  moment  that 
because  the  Chinese  so  despise  these  aboriginals  they 
themselves  are  pure  and  moral.  The  Chinese  have  an  ideal 
of  pmity,  and  to  their  eternal  credit  let  it  be  said  that  they 
have  never  exalted  or  deified  vice.  You  may  go  into  any  of 
their  temples  all  over  the  land  and  see  nothing  in  their  idol 
statues  which  will  shock  your  sense  of  decency.  You  get  a 
far  greater  shock  in  Western  picture  galleries  than  you  do 


172  MORALITY  OF  THE  ABORIGINALS 


in  any  of  China’s  temples.  The  teaehing  of  the  sages,  the 
open  exhortation  of  the  offieials,  the  tradition  of  the  country- 
side, all  are  on  the  side  of  the  angels,  and  he  who  knows 
these  things  only  comes  to  the  conclusion  that  China  is  a 
moral  country. 

He  who  knows  what  goes  on  behind  the  scenes,  he  who 
knows  the  secrets  of  hospital  medical  work,  he  who  has  lived 
in  the  villages  and  heard  the  stories  told  around  the  fire,  he 
who  listens  to  the  first  swear  words  the  little  children,  both 
boys  and  girls,  learn,  he  who  has  watched  two  women  quarrel 
and  understood  all  that  they  said,  knows  that  though  the 
moral  traditions  and  teachings  may  have  put  a respectable 
covering  over  everything,  down  underneath  the  elemental 
passions  are  working,  conquering  and  often  destroying  much 
of  the  life  of  China. 

A few  years  ago,  in  the  streets  of  Chentu,  that  great 
beautiful  city  of  West  China,  I noticed  over  the  doors  of  some 
of  the  houses  slips  of  bright  red  paper  pasted  up  on  which 
were  written  various  virtuous  mottoes.  The  sentiments  of 
these  mottoes  led  one  to  believe  that  the  dwellers  in  these 
houses  were  people  seeking  truth  and  honouring  the  highest. 
But  looking  in  beyond  the  portals  one  found  some  of  the 
lowest,  most  degrading  dens  of  the  city,  where  opium  slaves 
were  ruining  themselves  body  and  soul.  To  have  the  mottoes 
is  better  than  not  to  have  them.  Even  a spark  of  honouring 
the  true  and  pure  is  better  than  an  open  blazening  of  im- 
morality and  evil.  But  though  this  is  better  than  nothing 
it  does  not  count  for  a great  deal. 

The  aboriginals  do  without  the  coloured -paper  mottoes. 
They  come  out  into  the  open  with  much  that  China  hides  up. 
In  my  opinion  the  Chinese  are  wrong  in  their  verdict,  for  it 


MORALITY  OF  THE  ABORIGINALS  173 


is  not  given  to  the  {K)t  to  eall  the  kettle  blaek.  Both  are 
dirty  and  sadly  need  eleaning. 

Four  of  the  aboriginal  tribes  with  which  I am  acquainted 
are  very  inunoral,  though  some  of  the  grosser  sins  which 
exist  to  a large  extent  among  the  Chinese  and  are  reported 
to  be  rife  even  among  some  of  the  ruling  classes,  as  they  were 
rife  among  the  ancient  Greeks,  apparently  are  unknown 
to  them. 

How  to  fight  against  these  sins  and  how  to  make  those 
tribes-peoplc  who  become  Christians  live  pure  lives  is  one  of 
the  greatest  problems  facing  the  Christian  teacher.  After 
ten  years  of  such  work  I can  say  that  while  the  failures  have 
been  many  the  successes  have  been  many  also.  Christianity 
does  give  men  and  women  a power  they  never  had  before,  and 
the  worship  of  Jesus,  the  great  Friend  of  women  and  children, 
does  centre  the  thoughts  and  affections  on  One  in  whose 
presence  impurity  burns  up. 

Discussing  this  question,  one  feels  that  in  addition  to  the 
piu'ifying  influence  of  Jesus,  which  is  the  most  powerful 
weapon  we  have  at  our  disposal,  all  Western  teachers  who 
come  to  China  should  make  efforts  to  cultivate  the  love  of 
sports  and  athletics  in  all  Christian  schools  and  homes. 
Years  ago  there  was  great  prejudice  on  the  part  of  China’s 
young  men  and  women  against  such,  but  a great  change  is 
coming  over  the  people,  and  it  would  not  be  a surprise  to 
some  if  after  a few  years  the  champion  football  teams  of  the 
world  were  composed  of  players  from  China.  This  field  of 
athletics  is  almost  a virgin  field  practically  un worked,  at 
any  rate  merely  worked  on  the  surface.  The  introduction 
of  sports  and  athletics,  with  its  accompanying  cultivation  of 
strong  bodies,  will,  I am  sure,  do  much  to  enable  the  youth 


174  MORALITY  OF  THE  ABORIGINALS 


of  China,  both  Sons  of  Han  and  aboriginals,  to  conquer  in 
the  fight  against  the  passions  which  have  done  so  much  harm 
to  them  all. 

The  Nosu  men  would  readily  take  to  sports.  With  their 
splendid  little  ponies,  almost  human  in  their  intelligence  and 
responding  so  readily  to  the  wishes  of  their  riders,  one  can 
imagine  that  polo  would  be  very  popular,  and  horse-racing, 
without  its  vice  of  gambling,  would  stir  the  hills  far  more 
than  the  biggest  of  clan  fights  or  the  most  promising  of  raids 
into  Chinese  territory.  Horse-racing  is  not  unknown  in 
West  China,  and  at  one  of  these  equestrian  trials  a Nosu 
horse  owned  by  my  friend  Mr  Long  easily  beat  all  comers. 
The  prize  offered  by  the  official  in  charge  of  the  Republican 
Commemoration  sports  was  but  a small  one,  and  Mr  Long 
refused  it.  He  merely  had  his  horse  decorated  with  a long 
piece  of  red  cloth  and  had  it  led  aU  around  for  the  spectators 
to  look  at.  There  is  one  tribe  that  once  a year  has  a bull- 
fight among  all  the  bulls  of  the  neighbourmg  villages.  The 
final  conqueror  is  also  decorated  with  red.  This  debasing 
custom  missionaries  are  stopping,  with  the  consent  of  the 
people. 

One  evening  while  we  were  at  See-tieh  there  was  a break 
in  our  yarning  by  the  fire,  caused  by  the  arrival  of  two  singers 
who  were  anxious  to  show  the  visitors  what  they  could  do. 
Standing  awhile  outside  the  door,  one  of  the  smgers  sang : 

I am  a young  man  and  not  clever, 

The  clouds  are  coming  up  over  the  heavens, 

The  crows  are  croaking  : 

Will  there  be  any  fruit  on  the  trees? 

My  wrist  is  just  made  for  a golden  bracelet. 

Being  assured  that  there  might  be  some  fruit  on  the  trees — 


MORALITY  OF  THE  ABORIGINALS  175 


i.e.  some  gratuity  to  the  troubadours — they  entered  the  house. 
Tliey  wore  white  turbans,  with  a great  horn  of  cloth  sticking 
out  from  the  side  of  the  head.  Tlie  chief  singer  began  to 
sing,  moving  across  the  room  in  slow  fashion,  and  going 
through  various  movements  of  the  body  as  he  did  so.  His 
actions  and  song  were  then  repeated  by  the  second  singer, 
who  seemed  to  be  a kind  of  understudy  of  his  leader.  The 
first  wore  felt  socks  and  straw  sandals,  the  other  was  bare- 
foot. Each  had  on  the  usual  dark-coloured  cape.  They  sang 
about  the  good  old  days  when  they  were  so  rich  that  they 
could  even  chop  up  pieces  of  silver  to  feed  theii’  pigs  with, 
and  when  their  master  was  the  richest  and  best  in  all  the 
world. 

To  me  the  entertainment  was  a very  tame  one,  but  it 
pleased  the  others  and  therefore  pleased  me.  The  two 
singers  had  a look  at  my  watch,  and  were  startled  at  the 
ticking  of  it.  The  widow  with  the  gorgeous  robes  was 
deeply  interested  in  it  and  tried  to  get  some  of  the  other 
women  to  put  it  to  their  ears.  They  were  too  afraid  to  do 
so.  The  fear  of  magic  was  too  strong  with  them.  Their 
curiosity  was  more  than  baffled  by  their  superstitions. 

There  was  one  of  my  movements  which  excited  them  very 
much  indeed.  When  I wished  to  change  the  plates  in  my 
camera  I got  under  my  wadded  sleeping  quilt.  They 
wondered  what  in  the  world  I could  be  doing  imder  that  quilt. 
At  last  one  of  the  men  walked  across  and  felt  the  quilt. 
Immediately  he  had  done  so  he  cried  out : “ He  is  still  there.” 
He  evidently  thought  that  I possessed  the  secret  of  becoming 
invisible.  If  some  of  them  could  have  been  with  me  a few 
years  ago  at  the  Egyptian  Hall,  what  would  they  have 
thought  ? 


176  MORALITY  OF  THE  ABORIGINALS 


The  temperature  indoors  in  the  morning  was  42°  F. 
Going  outside  a little  later  on,  with  snow  all  over  the  ground, 
I saw  one  of  the  young  men  with  his  cloak  over  him  lying  in 
a field  fast  asleep.  Men  who  can  stand  such  exposure  are 
very  hardy  indeed. 

After  I had  had  a shave,  an  operation  in  which  the  people 
were  greatly  interested,  I sat  down  to  write  up  my  diary. 
While  doing  so  a wizard  came  in,  bringing  a skin  of  wine  to 
offer  to  Ah-pooh  and  his  guests.  He  put  the  skin  on  the  floor 
in  front  of  a trencher  and  then  dipped  out  a basin  full  of 
the  liquor,  which  he  poured  into  still  another  basin.  The 
nephew  of  the  wizard  then  offered  this  to  the  old  man  as 
head  of  the  household.  Had  the  lady,  Ah-hleh,  been 
present,  he  would  have  first  offered  the  wine  to  her,  but  by 
her  being  absent  the  husband  got  it  first.  The  nephew  bent 
one  knee  to  the  ground  as  he  made  the  offering,  being  very 
careful  to  turn  his  head  aside  lest  by  any  carelessness  he 
should  breathe  into  the  wine.  After  giving  the  basin  to  Ah- 
pooh  the  nephew  gave  basins  to  the  guests  in  turn,  going,  as 
he  did  so,  through  the  same  ceremony.  Then  came  the  turn 
of  the  retainers  and  others  who  were  present,  and  when 
offering  to  these  the  nephew  stood  up.  The  host  and  the 
guests  may  drink  their  wine  slowly,  but  the  retainers  and 
slaves  must  drink  their  basins  empty  at  a draught.  Other- 
wise they  arc  supposed  to  be  disrespectful  to  the  host,  their 
overlord.  Ah-pooh  drank  four  basins  of  the  wine. 

After  the  presentation  of  the  wine  the  wizard  stated  his 
business.  He  was  going  to  get  his  son  married  and  had  not 
enough  sheep  for  the  feasting  at  the  ceremony.  He  expected 
a lot  of  guests  and  wanted  the  old  gentleman  to  assist  him 
in  his  dillieulty.  The  gift  of  wine  is  suiqioscil  to  open  the 


A Group  of  Aboriginals 

The  one  o j ihe  right  is  a rote  ! wrestler. 


•N) 


a 


j' 


MORALITY  OF  THE  ABORIGINALS  177 


generosity  of  the  heart  and  to  make  it  more  probable  that  a 
request  will  be  granted.  A gift  of  wine  usually  means  that 
there  is  a request  for  some  favour  to  follow.  When  an  over- 
lord  wants  to  put  an  extra  unpost  on  his  tenants  or  retainers 
he  follows  the  same  course  as  the  wizard.  He  calls  them  all 
together,  gives  them  a good  drink  of  wine,  often  even  getting 
them  quite  muddled,  and  then  he  unfolds  his  plans.  These 
are  frequently  agreed  to  on  the  spot  and  carried  out  in  soberer 
moments  when  there  is  not  the  same  enthusiasm  for  the 
overlord’s  interests.  I think  the  wizard  got  a favourable 
reply  to  his  request  for  help  in  coimection  with  the  coming 
marriage.  As  a rule  the  overlords  find  it  pays  them 
to  treat  their  own  people  fairly  well  in  such  matters  as 
this. 

Around  the  farmstead  were  a number  of  wax-trees,  and  on 
these  were  resting  a colony  of  magpies.  They  fled  before 
our  approach,  and  as  they  settled  in  a field  near  by  I counted 
over  fifty.  There  is  a story  that  in  the  old  days  the  magpies 
were  all  white  and  lost  part  of  their  w'hiteness  as  a rcAvard 
for  being  the  bearers  of  evil  tidings.  These  birds  are  very 
tame  and,  like  their  relatives  the  ravens,  are  arrant 
thieves. 

New'S  was  brought  to  us  after  the  wizard  left  that  there 
was  a plot  brewing  among  some  of  the  clans  who  were  not 
friendly  to  the  people  we  w'ere  visiting  to  capture  Mr  Long 
and  myself  as  we  should  return  towards  the  Yangtse  later 
on.  This  was  the  first  news  of  a well-concocted  scheme,  at 
the  bottom  of  which  Avas  ]\Ir  Tien  and  the  Chinese  at  the  ferry 
market  toAAui.  They  Avere  going  to  play  another  game  Avith 
us  and  hoped  that  we  should  be  the  disastrous  losers  tliis  time. 
Taa'o  strong  imfriendly  tribes  have  their  lands  bordering  on 

M 


178  MORALITY  OF  THE  ABORIGINALS 


the  point  where  the  ferry  crosses  to  Nosuland,  and  it  was 
thought  that  if  the  proper  warning  were  given  these  tribes 
could  easily  muster  enough  men  to  capture  us  at  the  ferry 
and  hold  us  to  a ransom  which  would  bring  wealth  to  the 
leaders  of  the  men  capturing  us.  This  news  very  much  upset 
the  friends  with  whom  we  were  staying,  and  they  resolved  if 
necessary  to  make  a fight  out  of  the  trouble.  They  considered 
that  it  would  be  to  their  eternal  disgrace  if  they  permitted 
their  guest  to  be  kidnapped  or  captured  by  their  enemies. 
Some  of  the  young  men  were  keen  on  having  a big  row. 
They  always  delight  in  a raid  or  a clan  fight.  In  the  last 
century,  when  the  great  Mohammedan  struggle  was  in  full 
swing  in  the  province  of  Yunnan,  the  Chinese  sent  across  and 
hired  a thousand  Nosu  to  fight  for  them.  In  the  early  days 
of  the  struggle  the  Chinese  troops  were  utterly  unable  to 
stand  up  before  the  rebels.  I have  been  told  that  over  and 
over  again  ten  followers  of  the  Prophet  would  defeat  and 
chase  in  hot  pursuit  a hundred  Chinese.  The  hillmcn  were 
of  a very  different  stamp,  and  they,  with  our  host  Ah-pooh 
among  them,  defeated  the  Mohammedans  several  times.  There 
was,  however,  not  much  advantage  from  these  victories,  for 
the  crass  Chinese  officials  pursued  their  usual  insane  policy 
and  pocketed  the  money  sent  for  the  pay  of  the  auxiliaries. 
The  Nosu  soldiers,  of  course,  resented  this,  and  determined 
to  get  equal  with  those  who  were  squeezing  them.  One  day 
when  there  was  a big  fight  on  the  Nosu  allies  retired  from  the 
contest  and  left  the  obnoxious  Chinese  officials  to  bear  the 
brunt  of  the  battle.  The  Mohammedan  troops  were  only  too 
ready  to  profit  by  this  change  and  killed  a number  of  their 
enemies,  including  the  men  who  had  brought  about  the  crisis. 
After  this  fight  the  hillmen  returnal  home  and,  learning  a 


MORALITY  OF  THE  ABORIGINALS  170 


lesson  from  the  ease  with  whieh  they  hacl  beaten  the 
Mohammedans,  they  determined  to  engineer  a big  raid  of  their 
own.  The  A-Iu  and  Ma  clans  in  the  north  joined  them, 
and  to  the  number  of  a thousand  they  entered  Chinese 
territory  in  the  prefecture  of  Tong-chuan.  On  the  return 
home  again  they  were  the  bearers  of  inunense  booty.  In 
the  years  when  the  Mohammedans  were  in  rebellion  the  state 
of  the  ordinary  people  was  very  pitiable.  The  old  folk  tell 
stories  now  of  the  hardships  of  those  days.  Some  of  them 
have  also  told  me  about  these  raids  of  the  Nosu,  when  houses 
were  burnt,  young  people  carried  off  into  slavery,  and  babies 
dashed  to  pieces  against  rocks  so  that  they  should  not 
encumber  the  raiders  on  their  march  with  their  booty. 
Those  were  bad  old  days,  and  may  even  come  back 
again. 


CHAPTER  XVII 


A TRIO  OF  MYSTERIES 

IN  one  of  the  Nosu  books  I was  trying  to  read,  with  the 
aid  of  a wizard  who  knew  no  Chinese,  I came  across  a 
curious  diagram,  M'hich  looked  like  an  inverted  evolu- 
tion chart.  It  is  supposed  to  represent  the  course  of  a 
flowing  river,  and  at  the  side  gives  the  stations  where  various 
persons  and  animals  may  drink. 

At  the  source  of  the  stream,  where  the  water  is  purest  and 
uncontaminated  by  the  overlords,  the  Earth  Eyes  have  their 
drinking  station.  Next  in  social  rank  to  them  come  the 
Black  Bloods,  followed  by  the  White  Nosu,  the  ordinary 
tenants  of  the  Earth  Eyes  or  Black  Bloods.  All  this  is  plain 
sailing  and  easily  understood.  But  the  surprise  of  the  chart 
comes  in  the  next  step.  Here  there  is  a drinking  station 
assigned  to  the  Lama,  or  the  Oo-Chi  La-ma,  to  give  the  name 
in  full.  I asked  my  weird  pundit  who  were  the  Lama,  who 
ranked  below  the  Wliite  Nosu  and  above  the  slaves.  He 
informed  me  that  these  were  the  Tibetans,  who  were  a 
degenerate  branch  of  the  Nosu.  This  statement  w'as  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  I had  as  yet  heard  from  any  of  these 
people.  More  than  once  have  I heard  the  Nosu  claim  that 
the  Tibetans  are  Nosu,  and  there  is  a tomb  of  a wealthy 
member  of  that  race  who  lived  and  died  in  Chinese  territory 
where  such  a claim  is  cut  on  the  stones.  Some  of  the  wizards 
at  times  wear  a head-dress  similar  to  the  ceremonial  hats 
worn  by  some  of  the  Tibetan  Lamas.  Not  long  after  I 

i8o 


A TRIO  OF  MYSTERIES 


181 


Iiud  Liilked  this  matter  over  with  tlie  wizard  pundit  and  otlier 
Nosu  friends  a Tibetan  Christian  came  to  my  home  with 
a missionary  who  has  spent  years  on  the  borders  of  Tibet. 
1 got  one  of  tlic  independent  Nosu  from  north  of  the  Yangtse 
and  this  Tibetan  together,  and  tried  hard  to  see  if  tlicre 
was  anything  in  common  in  their  speech.  \Vc  liad  no 

success  whatever  in  the  attempt.  Neither  could  understand 
anything  the  other  said,  and  at  last  the  two  gave  up  the 
attempt  and  agreed  that  they  had  nothing  in  common.  This 
Tibetan  came  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Lhassa.  With 
Tibetans  who  live  in  Eastern  Tibet,  where  these  last  years 
there  has  been  such  a struggle  with  China,  a fellow-missionary 
who  is  an  authority  on  that  borderland  and  its  peoples 
assured  me  the  case  is  very  different.  lie  told  me  that  there 
was  a good  bit  of  similarity  between  the  speech  of  these 
Tibetans  and  the  Nosu.  It  seems  probable  that  the  claim 
made  by  the  Nosu  is  correct.  If  so,  in  these  Nosu  one  is  in 
touch  with  one  of  the  very  early  races  of  Asia.  Tlicre  is, 
however,  one  problem  in  connection  with  this  question  which 
is  not  easily  solved.  Buddhism  is  all-powerful  throughout 
Tibet.  In  Nosuland  I found  no  trace  of  it  at  all.  There  are 
no  temples,  no  priests,  no  idols,  and  polyandry,  that  eccentric 
custom  of  the  great  Lama  tablelands,  is  unknown  among  the 
brave  hill  tribes.  There  are  customs  almost  as  revolting,  such, 
for  instance,  as  a father  claiming  his  widowed  daughter-in-law, 
but  one  woman  having  several  husbands  is  quite  unknowm. 

Tlien  again  the  Tibetan  written  language  and  literature 
are  very  different  to  that  of  the  Nosu.  This,  however,  may 
not  be  a certain  proof  of  the  dissimilarity  of  origin  in  the 
two  peoples,  for  the  Tibetian  written  language  was  not 
originally  their  owm. 


182 


A TRIO  OF  MYSTERIES 


At  any  rate  there  is  the  statement  in  one  of  the  Nosu  books 
that  the  Lamas  rank  as  part  of  the  Nosu  people  taking 
a quite  low  position  in  the  soeial  seale. 

From  some  of  the  hills  of  Nosuland  ean  be  seen  the  great 
white  snow-covered  ranges  of  Tibet,  those  white  hills  which 
in  clear  weather  can  be  seen  immense  distances,  and  w'hen  once 
seen  are  never  forgotten.  As  the  snow  on  the  tops  of  these 
distant  mountains  never  melts  away,  the  Nosu  think  tliat 
it  cannot  be  snow.  To  them  these  mountains  are  magic 
mountains,  where  dwell  a large  number  of  white  maidens. 
They  say  that  no  bride  can  ever  cross  those  white  ridges. 
Whenever  a bride  appears  the  white  maidens  come  out  and 
bewitch  her  away.  Perhaps  some  such  story  as  this  lias 
prevented  the  Chinese  officials  and  their  retinue,  who  used 
to  go,  as  representatives  of  the  Chinese  Government,  into 
Tibet,  from  taking  their  wives  with  them.  At  any  rate, 
while  in  Tibet,  native  wives  were  provided  for  them  all. 
These  women  do  not  seem  to  have  objected  to  the  temporary 
union.  One  of  the  officers  who  was  in  Tibet  during  the 
late  Chinese  fighting  (1913)  told  me  that  when  one  town  fell 
to  the  Chinese  troops  the  commander  received,  as  his  share 
of  the  booty,  twelve  such  Tibetan  women. 

Our  stay  at  the  See-tieh  farmstead  came  to  an  end  at  last. 
When  we  left  we  felt  we  were  leaving  friends  behind,  whom 
we  promised  to  visit  again  before  long.  One  of  Ah-pooh’s 
sons  was  a fine,  well-built  young  man  named  Vri-ntee.  He 
was  recognised  as  the  leading  man  in  the  whole  district,  and 
was  looked  up  to  by  everybody.  Because  he  declared  himself 
the  friend  of  the  Englishman  who  had  come  into  his  land  no 
one  in  that  district  dared  to  turn  traitor  to  us.  The  constant 
friendship  of  these  people  was  largely  owing  to  the  attitude 


A TRIO  OF  MYSTERIES 


183 


taken  up  by  Vri-ntcc.  He  was  married  iind  there  was  at 
least  one  little  girl  at  that  time  old  enough  to  take  notice  of 
the  visitor.  Wlienever  any  important  move  was  to  be  made 
by  the  people,  the  advice  to  be  finally  followed  was  given 
by  the  father  of  this  little  girl.  In  writing  of  this  fine  man 
one  remembers  a remarkable  verse  in  the  Old  Testament 
which  describes  a certain  “ captain  of  the  host  of  the  King 
of  Syria,  a great  man  with  his  master,  and  honourable,  a 
mighty  man  of  valour,”  and  then  a tragie  end  to  it  all,  “ but 
he  was  a leper.”  This  terrible  verdict  was  later  on  to  be 
passed  on  the  tall,  upright  Nosu  chief  of  See-tieh.  In  the 
days,  however,  when  I was  there,  no  one  dreamed  that  such 
a fate  was  in  store  for  Vri-ntee.  If  there  is  one  thing  more 
dreaded  than  another  by  the  Nosu,  it  is  the  disease  of  leprosy, 
which  is  all  too  common  among  the  peoples  of  West  China. 
So  dreaded  is  this  disease  that  in  some  provinces  the  Chinese 
officials  have  begun  to  adopt  the  barbarous  plan  of  killing 
all  the  lepers  off.  Usually  this  unfortunate  class  of  sufferers 
is  allowed  to  wander  all  over  the  eountry-side,  begging  their 
way,  and  causing  terror  to  many  people.  Some  of  the  more 
advanced  and  hardened  of  these  leper  beggars  adopt  means 
to  terrorise  people.  They  ^vill  gather  in  a band  at  any  house 
where  a wedding  is  to  be  celebrated,  and  refuse  to  leave 
until  they  have  been  paid  a good  sum  of  money.  How  to 
deal  with  these  folk  is  one  of  the  many  problems  facing 
China.  She  has  so  far  shirked  this  and  all  similar  problems, 
but  the  time  has  come  when  she  will  have  to  deal  in  earnest 
with  all  these  social  questions  which  mean  so  much  in  the 
life  of  a nation. 

A few  years  after  my  stay  in  See-tieh  Vri-ntee  discovered 
a sore  on  his  body,  which  did  not  disappear  as  the  days  and 


184 


A TRIO  OF  MYSTERIES 


months  passed.  As  in  all  similar  cases,  he  either  left  it 
alone  or  consulted  a wizard.  If  he  had  been  in  Chinese 
territory  he  would  probably  have  used  medicine  of  some 
kind  or  other.  But  in  Nosuland  medicines  are  practically 
never  used.  This  again  is  a unique  feature  of  this  remark- 
able country.  The  Chinese  who  live  in  the  surrounding 
districts  are  great  believers  in  drugs,  and  the  hill  land  of 
West  China  is  one  of  the  principal  parts  for  collecting  the 
many  herbs  used  in  the  Chinese  pharmacopoeia.  The  trade 
in  dried  herbs  for  medicinal  purposes  is  one  of  the  great 
trades  of  West  China.  The  wizards  could  do  nothing  with 
the  sore  on  Vri-ntee’s  body  and  at  last  he  began  to  get  very 
uncomfortable.  The  suspicion  crossed  his  mind  that  there 
was  something  serious  the  matter,  and  he  lived  in  the  dread 
that  he  might,  after  all  his  years  of  prowess,  become  an  out- 
cast, despised  and  feared  even  by  those  who  now  respected 
him  so  much.  Being  a wise  man,  he  kept  his  fears  to  him- 
self, not  sharing  them  even  with  his  wife  or  ehildrcn. 

When  leaving  See-tieh  and  before  we  were  many  miles  away 
from  the  hospitable  farmstead,  a man  on  horseback  came 
riding  hard  after  us  and  shouting  to  us  to  stop.  We  waited 
to  know  what  he  wanted.  He  asked  Mr  Long  and  me  to 
step  aside  from  the  others  in  a rather  mysterious  way. 
Then  we  all  squatted  on  the  ground  to  listen  to  whatever  the 
horse-rider  had  to  say.  He  then  unfolded  a story  that  dis- 
tressed him  very  much.  He  had  a son  at  home  who  was 
a leper,  and  hearing  of  the  fame  of  the  guest  who  had  so 
unexpectedly  come  among  them,  he  had  ridden  after  us  to 
know  if  I had  any  plan  by  which  I could  cure  his  son  of  this 
terrible  disease.  One,  of  course,  could  hold  out  very  little 
hope  to  such.  Tlie  foreigner  might  have  a great  reputation 


A TRIO  OF  ]\n"STERIES 


185 


for  magic  and  occult  powers,  but  brought  face  to  face  with 
leprosy,  one’s  rcj)utation  docs  not  last  very  long.  The 
father  went  away  downhearted,  and  we  pursued  our  journey 
with  a cloud  hanging  over  us.  All  had  seemed  so  bright,  and 
then  came  this  incident,  which  let  light  into  the  gloom 
prevailmg  in  .some  of  the  homes  of  Nosuland. 

IMien  Vri-ntee  discovered  that  he  was  getting  no  better 
he  re.solvcd  to  go  into  Chinese  ten-itory  and  tell  his  story  to 
Mr  Long,  who  was  much  respected  by  the  friends  at  See-tieh. 
Mr  Long  ridiculed  the  idea  of  leprosy.  I think  he  was  afraid 
the  suspicion  was  a correct  one,  but  realising  what  it  would 
mean  for  his  Nosu  friend,  he  laughed  at  it  and  cheered  his 
visitor  all  he  could.  At  last  he  suggested  a visit  to  the 
missionary  hospital  at  Chaotung,  where  the  physician-in- 
charge, Dr  L.  Savin,  was  working  hard,  and  with  much 
success,  to  relieve  the  great  suffering  which  in  that  as  well 
as  in  other  Chinese  districts  is  all  too  prevalent.  The  fateful 
journey  was  taken,  and  I am  sure  no  one  of  the  party  travel- 
ling over  the  hills  dreamed  w'hat  was  going  to  be  the  outcome 
of  that  visit  to  the  doctor.  Ever  since  my  stay  in  Nosuland 
the  men  from  north  of  the  river  had  felt  that  there  was  some- 
one in  the  large  city  who  would  give  them  a welcome,  and 
consequently  it  was  by  no  means  an  uncommon  thing  to  see 
a black-cloaked  independent  Nosu  walking  in  the  streets  of 
Chaotung.  The  tall  chief  from  See-tieh  went  to  the  city, 
therefore,  with  willingness.  He  hoped  that  on  his  retm-n 
home  to  his  wife  and  family  there  would  no  longer  be 
the  hidden  fear  in  his  heart  which  he  dared  not  share  even 
with  those  most  dear  to  him.  Very  soon  after  the  party 
arrived  at  Chaotung  Mr  Long  and  Vri-ntee  made  their  way 
to  the  hospital,  and  the  kind  doctor  was  only  too  glad  to  do 


186 


A TRIO  OF  MYSTERIES 


all  he  could  for  the  Nosu  chief.  These  hillmen  have  always 
appealed  to  Dr  Savin,  ai«i  he  has  rendered  them  valuable 
help  on  many  occasions.  That  help  is  well  worth  having. 
I remember  gratefully  how  kind  this  doctor  can  be.  Once 
when  I,  in  another  part  of  the  district,  got  into  trouble  with 
one  of  the  Black  Bloods  living  in  Chinese  territory,  and  was 
so  beaten  that  my  life  was  despaired  of.  Dr  Savin  did  all 
that  he  possibly  could  do,  and  did  it  with  a heart  full  of 
kindness.  This  same  kindness  he  showed  to  Vri-ntee.  He 
soon,  however,  saw  that  the  fears  in  Vri-ntee’s  heart  were 
only  too  well  founded,  and  that  the  dreaded  disease,  which 
no  one  out  here  can  cm’e,  had  gripped  the  brave  chief  from 
See-tieh. 

While  still  staying  at  Chaotung,  and  wondering  what  the 
verdict  would  be,  Mr  Long  told  the  doctor  that  if  it  were 
true  that  the  chief  were  a leper,  and  if  he  knew  the  truth, 
he  would  certainly  commit  suicide  in  preference  to  returning 
home,  where  all  would  treat  him  as  an  outcast.  That  pros- 
pect this  man,  brave  as  he  was  in  many  ways,  would  not 
face.  In  view  of  this  terrible  possibility  the  doctor  refused 
to  tell  the  chief  the  truth,  and  did  all  he  could  to  cheer  him 
up,  and  to  take  his  thoughts  off  from  the  dread  which  was 
so  haunting  him.  The  man,  however,  refused  to  be  put  off 
in  this  way.  He  got  hold  of  the  idea  that  something  was 
being  kept  from  him,  and  that  the  doctor  was  not  doing  all 
that  could  be  done.  He  imagined  that  even  if  he  were  a 
leper,  this  doctor,  who  had  snatched  so  many  people  right 
back  from  the  portals  of  death,  could  surely  save  him,  who 
was  still  a very  strong  man  and  in  the  full  vigour  of  man- 
hood. He  got  so  obsessed  with  this  idea  that  he  resolved 
to  commit  suicide,  and  determined  to  do  so  at  the  gate  of 


A TRIO  OF  MYSTERIES 


187 


the  hospital.  His  retainers,  however,  got  to  know  wliat  he 
contemj)lated,  and  prevented  him  from  carrying  out  this 
plan.  The  disappointed  chief  was  in  a desperate  state,  and 
at  last  ]\Ir  Long  and  he  started  out  for  home  again.  All 
along  the  way  the  man  was  gloomy,  and  persisted  in  saying 
that  the  doctor  had  a curative  medicine  which  he  could  have 
given  him,  if  he  had  been  willing  to  do  so.  He  now  began 
to  suspect  that  Mr  Long  was  also,  for  some  reason  or  other, 
in  league  with  the  doctor.  After  two  or  three  days  the 
party  reached  Toh-chee,  the  home  of  Mr  Long,  from  which 
the  hills  near  to  See-tieh  can  be  seen.  Vri-ntee  and  his  men 
slept  the  night  in  a room  at  the  side  of  the  main  courtyard, 
close  to  where  Mr  Long  was.  In  the  night,  when  all  the 
others  were  fast  asleep,  Vri-ntee  got  up  and  went  outside 
into  the  courtyard.  Here,  right  at  the  door  of  the  room 
where  his  retainers  were  sleeping,  he  hanged  himself  with  lus 
girdle.  It  was  not  an  easy  thing  to  do,  and  he  had  to  do  it 
with  the  greatest  deliberation.  Some  of  these  Orientals  are 
desperate  characters  when  it  comes  to  suicide.  I knew  one 
old  man  who  was  so  full  of  pain  that  he  could  stand  it  no 
longer.  He  hanged  himself  by  the  side  of  his  bed  with  lus 
head  only  about  eighteen  inches  from  the  floor.  I knew  a 
little  girl  also  who  hanged  herself  from  a bush,  which  was 
not  so  high  as  herself.  And  I knew  a pair  of  lovers,  who 
could  not  get  married,  tie  a rope  around  each  other’s  neck 
and  stand  thus  together  on  a rock,  from  which  a tree  grew 
almost  horizontally.  They  jumped  together  so  tliat  the 
rope  caught  on  the  principal  branch  of  the  tree,  and  they 
died  there — hanging  down  on  either  side  of  the  branch. 

There  was  a great  outcry  the  next  morning  when  the 
body  was  discovered.  Word  was  sent  by  Mr  Long  to  the 


188 


A TRIO  OF  MYSTERIES 


relatives,  and  the  body  was  put  in  a good  coffin.  A number 
of  Mr  Long’s  men  then  carried  the  coffin  to  the  ferry  at  Shin 
Chan  Keo,  Vri-ntee’s  friends  were  waiting  in  great  sadness 
on  the  other  side,  and  the  coffin  was  ferried  across  to  them. 
The  first  thing  they  did  on  receiving  the  coffin  was  to  open 
it  and  carefully  take  out  the  body  of  their  great  chief.  The 
coffin  was  promptly  thrown  away.  A coffin  might  be  a 
fitting  place  for  a Chinaman  or  a degenerate  Nosu  who  lived 
among  the  Chinese,  and  had  contracted  their  ways,  but  in 
their  opinion  it  was  no  resting-place  for  a true  Nosu  chief, 
who  had  lived  among  the  free  hills.  Vri-ntee  was  carried 
back  to  See-tieh  and  a great  burning  was  made  for  him. 
The  farmstead  has  never  been  the  same  again,  Ah-pooh  and 
Ah-hleh  are  gone,  and  Vri-ntee  is  gone.  The  brother  who 
now  rules  has  not  the  ability  of  his  great  brother,  and  is  not 
held  in  the  same  high  regard.  One  is  glad  to  think  that  no 
grave  held  the  body  of  the  disconsolate  chief,  and  that  the 
friendly  flames  of  the  funeral  pyre  burned,  once  for  all,  all 
the  leprosy  out  of  his  body.  Never  again  was  he  a source 
of  danger  to  home  folk  or  friends. 

When  we  said  good-bye  on  that  November  morning,  none 
of  us  thought  that  such  an  end  was  to  be  the  end  of  the  tall 
Nosu  chief  who  so  naturally  took  his  place  as  leader  among 
the  young  men  of  his  clan. 

We  inquired  closely,  while  we  were  in  independent  Nosu- 
land,  whether  the  hill-people  were  given  to  the  eating  of  dried 
fish,  and  were  informed  that  while  such  a diet  was  not  ab- 
solutely unknown  it  was  decidedly  uncommon.  I have  known 
leprosy  out  here  among  the  members  of  a tribe  which  prac- 
tically never  cats  fish.  I have  known  some  of  the  men  taste 
fish  for  the  first  time  at  my  table.  The  people  do  not  krtow 


A TRIO  OF  MYSTERIES 


189 


what  causes  the  disease.  INIost  of  the  Chinese  and  aboriginals 
are  terribly  afraid  of  it,  and  sometimes  take  very  drastic 
measures  to  get  rid  of  it.  In  a home  not  far  from  mine,  a 
husband  was  taken  with  leprosy.  One  night  his  friends 
made  him  dead  drunk  with  the  local  samshu,  and  then  placed 
him  in  one  of  the  flimsily  built  outhouses.  The  outhouse  was 
then  set  on  fire,  and  the  drunken  leper  was  burnt  to  death. 
All  over  the  West  of  China  cases  of  leprosy  are  constantly 
met  with,  and  the  Government  has  done  absolutely  nothing 
to  cope  with  the  terrible  disease.  In  fact,  in  presence  of  the 
great  diseases  which  are  such  a scourge  to  humanity,  China 
has  been  almost  powerless,  and  has  trusted  far  more  to 
wizards’  incantations  tlian  to  sanitary  or  medical  reforms. 
The  way  in  which,  at  the  end  of  the  Manchu  dynasty,  some 
of  her  brightest  sons,  backed  up  by  full  official  aid,  fought  the 
dreaded  bubonic  plague,  when  it  invaded  Manchuria,  gives 
high  hopes  that  before  long  this  same  class  of  foreign-trained 
students  will  fight  hard  and  successfully  to  lighten  the  great 
burden  of  disease  wiiich  presses  so  heavily  and  disastrously 
on  the  people  all  over  the  country. 

The  fact  that  in  Nosuland  practically  no  notice  is  taken 
of  medicines,  and  that  all  diseases  are  put  down  to  the  evil 
influence  of  demons,  makes  the  position  of  the  wizards  a 
most  important  one.  MTiatever  be  the  disease,  the  wizard 
is  called  in  to  cast  out  the  demon  of  that  particular  disease. 
The  ceremony  of  driving  aw'ay  the  demon  of  disease  is  called 
Kweh-ha.  The  wizard  comes,  with  all  his  paraphernalia,  to 
the  house  where  the  sick  person  is.  One  of  the  first  things 
he  does  is  to  make  the  invalid  breathe  on  an  egg.  Then,  by 
means  of  incantations,  the  wdzard  compels  the  demon  of 
the  disease  to  enter  the  egg,  where  it  assumes  its  proper 


190 


A TRIO  OF  MYSTERIES 


shape,  and  can  be  recognised  by  the  wizard.  He  then  cuts 
open  the  egg  and  makes  a careful  examination.  From  this 
he  can  tell  what  colour  of  animal,  whether  ox,  sheep  or  fowl, 
is  needed  to  be  killed,  as  an  offering  to  the  demon.  I expect 
personal  preference  of  the  wizard  has  a lot  to  do  with  the 
colour  and  kind  of  animal  needed  to  persuade  the  demon 
to  depart.  I remember  a missionary  who  was  travelling 
among  some  of  these  tribes  in  another  part  of  West  China. 
He  found  it  very  difficult  to  eat  and  digest  the  coarsely 
cooked  meat  and  meal  of  these  people.  Whenever  it  was  a 
fowl  for  supper  he  got  on  fairly  well,  and  at  last  he  used  to 
pray  every  day  that  when  supper  came  it  might  be  fowl,  and 
not  tough  sheep  or  goat.  I expect  the  state  of  the  wizard’s 
digestion  in  some  way  or  other  influenced  the  colour  and 
shape  of  the  animal  discovered  in  the  auspices  of  the  egg. 

When  the  diagnosis  of  the  egg  has  been  completed  the 
wizard  makes  a rough  effigy  of  grass,  and  rubs  this  up  and 
down  the  body  of  the  patient,  repeating  his  charms  as  he 
does  so.  In  this  way  the  demon  is  compelled  to  leave 
the  patient  entirely,  and  enter  the  straw  man.  With  due 
ceremony  this  straw  man  is  then  escorted  into  the  open,  and 
the  demon  is  commanded  to  be  off.  As  his  fee  for  this  cere- 
mony, the  wizard  gets  a leg  and  the  skin  of  the  animal  which 
is  killed,  or  sacrificed  to  the  demon  of  the  disease.  Seeing 
ox-skins  have  become  very  valuable  these  last  few  years,  it 
is  no  wonder  that  the  wizards  are  glad  when  the  life  of  such 
an  animal  is  taken  to  grease  the  dcpartm’c  of  the  disturbing 
demon. 

The  profession  of  wizard  is  fairly  profitable,  but  it  is  also 
not  without  considerable  danger.  I realised  this  one  night 
when  I saw  a wizard  sitting  at  the  back  of  the  liouse,  sheltered 


A TRIO  OF  MYSTERIES 


191 


by  the  usual  felt  cape,  and  by  his  side  a second  wizard,  going 
through  various  incantations  on  behalf  of  his  confrere. 
I was  told  that  in  driving  the  devil  away  from  the  sick  person 
this  disturbing  force  refuses  to  go  far  unless  compelled, 
and  instead  of  accompanying  the  straw  effigy  into  the  open, 
and  jumping  on  to  any  person  who  might  pass  by  that  way, 
it  makes  a straight  cut  to  the  wizard’s  person  and  dwells 
with  him.  Hence  the  second  incantations  to  make  sure  that 
the  wizard,  in  curing  others,  has  not  done  so  at  the  expense 
of  his  own  health.  This  fear  undoubtedly  has  its  origin  in 
the  fact  that  many  of  the  diseases  attended  are  contagious, 
and  now  and  again  the  wizard  catches  wliat  the  patient  is 
suffering  from. 

There  is  another  way  in  which  the  profession  of  wizard  is 
hazardous.  He  is  supposed  not  only  to  be  able  to  drive 
away  demons  but  to  cause  them  to  enter  people  as  well. 
This  perhaps  gives  him  great  power,  but  now  and  again  it 
leads  to  his  undoing,  as  any  great  calamity  is  put  down 
to  his  cursing  powers.  As  long  as  he  is  powerful  enough 
and  of  sufficient  importance  to  the  lord  of  the  clan,  he  is 
strongly  entrenched,  and  cannot  be  touched.  Now  and 
again,  however,  he  falls  into  disfavour,  and  then  his  enemies 
will  do  their  best  to  ruin  him.  I have  known  cases  where 
severe  corporal  punishment,  if  not  actual  murder,  has  been 
visited  on  these  dreaded  but  no  longer  powerful  wizards. 
Sometimes  one  of  the  chiefs  will  send  for  all  the  wizards  in 
his  clan,  and  will  have  a great  festival,  at  which  the  chief 
thing  done  is  a great  cursing  of  his  enemies.  When  there 
is  such  an  important  gathering  of  the  profession,  the  pay  for 
a day  and  a night’s  cursing  is  a hundred  fowls,  a hundred 
goats  and  nine  oxen.  These  are  all  killed  and  eaten.  It 


192 


A TRIO  OF  MYSTERIES 


can  be  imagined  that  sueh  a carnival  of  cursing  attracts 
people  from  all  families  in  the  elan.  After  such  a festival 
all  the  evils  that  befall  the  persons  cursed  are  ascribed  to 
the  work  of  these  wizards.  As  sickness  and  calamity  are 
all  too  common,  it  is  not  likely  that  these  gentry  of  the 
black  art  will  quickly  be  put  aside  as  failures  in  their 
special  line. 


CHAW'EU  XVIII 


ON  THE  MARCH  AGAIN 


N the  nioniing  when  we  left  See-tieh  we  were  up  soon 


after  six  o’cloek.  It  liad  snowed  a good  bit  during 


the  night.  Some  of  the  snow  had  come  through  the 
boards  of  the  roof  and  fallen  on  to  my  bed.  1 had  covered 
myself  with  all  that  I hatl,  and  had  crept  right  down  under 
all,  but  I found  it  very  cold  in  spite  of  these  precautions. 
We  found  that  the  snow  on  the  ground  was  not  so  deep  as 
we  had  feared  it  would  have  been,  and  we  were  not  prevented 
from  proceeding  on  our  journey  still  farther  into  Nosuland. 

In  preparation  for  our  journey,  the  friends  at  the  farm- 
stead had  cooked  a lot  of  maize  cakes  for  us  to  take  on  the 
road.  We  were  very  glad  indeed  to  have  these  provisions, 
for  that  day  we  had  to  walk  twenty  miles  m the  snow,  and 
there  was  no  chance  of  a meal  till  late. 

As  we  were  travelling  along  and  I remarked  that  I was 
getting  hungry  Mr  Long  told  me  that  I ought  to  imitate  the 
bears  and  lick  my  paws.  Black  bears  are  very  common  in 
Nosuland,  and  in  the  winter,  when  they  hibernate  in  the  caves, 
the  people  say  that  they  keep  off  the  hunger  of  the  long  months 
by  licking  their  paws.  For  this  reason  the  Chinese  associate 
great  virtue  with  these  paws,  and  pay  high  prices  for  them. 
They  are  used  as  a special  dish  in  their  high-class  feasts. 

Soon  after  we  got  away  from  See-tieh  we  passed  a small 
village,  where  lived  one  of  Ah-pooh’s  grandsons.  In  the  front 
of  his  house,  out  in  the  open  field,  was  a sight  which  in  Cliinese 


N 


193 


194  ON  THE  MARCH  AGAIN 

Yunnan  would  have  been  deemed  marvellous.  Stored  on  a 
platform  in  the  centre  of  the  field  was  a great  quantity  of 
ripe  Indian  corn.  I asked  whether  anyone  kept  watch  over 
it  at  night,  and  was  told,  “ No.  ” They  said  that  no  one  would 
steal  in  these  parts.  The  Nosu  steal  from  their  enemies  or 
from  strangers,  never  from  their  o^vn  people,  and  never  at 
all  without  the  permission  of  their  overlord.  I expect  the 
latter  permission  is  as  easily  obtained  as  were  letters  of 
marque  in  the  times  of  the  great  English  naval  wars  with 
France  and  Spain.  Such  an  exposed  quantity  of  grain  would 
not  have  remained  intact  a single  night  in  Chinese  Yumian. 
The  farmers  there  have  frequently  to  guard  their  crops,  night 
and  day,  with  weapons  of  some  kind  or  other.  In  some  places 
it  is  one  great  fight,  first  to  get  the  grain,  and  then  to  keep  it. 
In  places,  when  the  maize  seed  has  been  sown  wild  pigs  will 
come  by  night  and  root  it  all  up  again.  When  the  yoimg 
com  appears  above  the  ground  neighbours’  cattle  or  rich 
men’s  horses  will  come  and  do  great  damage.  When  the 
cobs  are  on  the  stalks  the  enemies  become  more  numerous 
than  ever.  Wild  pigs,  household  dogs,  porcupines,  monkeys, 
bears,  rats,  all  have  sweet  teeth  for  the  young  maize  cobs. 
And  when  the  grain  is  nearly  ripe,  and  ahnost  ready  for 
gathering  in,  thieves  constantly  come  and  steal  right  and  left. 
Sometimes,  if  it  is  a very  rainy  night  and  the  watchers  seek 
the  shelter  of  the  little  huts  built  on  the  banks  overlooking 
the  fields,  some  bold  thieves  will  brave  the  elements  and 
carry  off  many  baskets  full  of  the  ripening  corn.  Even  after 
the  grain  is  stored  in  the  house  thieves  are  still  daring  and 
plentiful,  and  landlords  who  are  paid  in  grain  often  take  so 
much  that  there  are  only  half-meals  left  for  the  tillers  of  the 
soil  during  the  rest  of  the  year. 


ON  THE  MARCH  AGAIN 


195 


One  can  easily  see  how  surprised  some  of  us  were  to  see 
an  open-air  granary,  with  no  fear  of  thieves  disturbing  the 
farmers.  The  Chinese  say  that  the  independent  Nosu  are 
all  thieves.  They  do  not,  at  any  rate,  steal  promiscuously. 
During  the  time  I was  in  the  land  1 left  everything  open,  and 
allowed  my  new  friends  to  turn  over  all  I had.  When  I 
left  the  country  the  only  thing  missing  which  I could  not 
account  for  was  a box  of  matches,  which  possibly  fell  down 
somewhere  and  was  forgotten.  Compare  that  experience 
with  the  advice  given  by  the  late  ]\Ir  Hudson  Taylor  to 
missionaries  setting  off  on  a journey,  which  was  to  the  effect 
that  everything  was  to  be  reckoned  as  lost,  and  what  was  left 
over  at  the  end  of  the  journey  was  to  be  treated  as  gain  made 
on  that  journey.  That  was  a picturesque  way  of  referring 
to  a state  of  affairs  which  has  worried  nearly  every  traveller 
who  has  ventured  into  the  interior  of  the  Celestial  Country. 

We  travelled  up  for  about  five  or  six  miles,  and  then  got 
into  a regular  fairyland.  The  frozen  mist  and  the  fresh 
snow  made  the  trees  look  charming.  Frozen  mist  on  a moor- 
land of  low  bushes  and  bracken  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
sights  one  meets  with  in  this  West  China  hill  land.  Every 
leaf  and  every  frond  are  duplieated,  and  if  you  pluck  off  the 
ice  from  the  leaves  you  find  all  the  veins  and  markings  per- 
fectly reproduced.  The  new  leaves  of  the  rhododendrons 
were  all  in  bud,  and  the  young  edelweiss  was  all  over  the  hill- 
side in  rieh  profusion  like  stars  on  a fairy  sward.  Here  and 
there  was  holly  in  berry,  bringing  back  to  one  a touch  of 
home-sickness,  which  at  times  you  cannot  escape,  how'ever 
hardened  a traveller  you  may  be,  or  however  long  you  may 
have  been  away  from  the  yule  log  and  the  mistletoe. 

Hearing  that  I would  like  to  purchase  a felt  cloak,  several 


196 


ON  THE  MARCH  AGAIN 


were  brought  to  me  at  one  plaee  or  another.  The  price  of  a 
cloak  is  one,  two  or  even  more  pieces  of  ordinary  cloth,  and 
cases  have  been  known  where  a cloak  of  very  fine  manufacture 
has  been  exchanged  for  a man.  Talking  about  exchanges, 
I was  told  that  a fair-sized  sheep  was  worth  about  twenty 
catties  of  salt. 

Some  hill-tops  we  passed  on  our  way  had  been  the  scenes 
of  many  fights  between  rival  clans,  and  we  passed  these  places 
with  a good  bit  of  care  and  precaution.  The  raids  are  so 
sudden  and  unexpected  that  the  Nosu  are  always  on  the  look- 
out for  them.  On  these  hills  the  way  sometimes  lay  through 
long  lanes,  with  trees  on  either  side  covered  with  ice.  No 
care  is  taken  of  the  roads,  and  the  branches  often  hung  over 
in  embarrassing  profusion.  We  sometimes  had  to  stoop 
down  to  pass  under  these  branches.  Had  one  been  on  horse- 
back Absalom’s  fate  would  have  threatened  one  many  times 
over. 

Coming  down  the  other  side  of  the  hills,  we  got  out  of  the 
mists  and  below  the  cloud -line.  The  scene  in  front  of  us  was 
very  entrancing.  There  were  villages  on  the  hill-sides  in  all 
directions,  but  never  a town  anywhere.  There  is  not  a town 
in  the  whole  of  Nosuland.  Everybody  lives  on  the  land. 
The  problems  that  face  Westerners  have  never  yet  been 
dreamed  of  by  these  people.  They  have,  however,  problems 
of  their  own.  One  of  the  sternest  is  what  is  to  be  the  result 
of  the  ever-narrowing  circle  of  Chinese  which  surromids 
them. 

We  passed  in  one  place  on  a hill -side  a ring  of  stones  where 
someone  had  been  cremated  and  the  ashes  buried.  There 
was  not  the  slightest  sign  to  show  whose  ashes  had  been 
buried  there. 


ON  THE  MARCH  AGAIN 


197 


From  a pack  saddle  we  saw  on  a horse  that  passal  us  we 
saw  that  animals  have  to  rough  it  as  well  as  men.  There 
were  two  rough,  wooden  angles  joined  to  a flat  piece  of  wood 
on  either  side.  This  was  put,  as  it  was,  on  the  horse’s  back, 
without  a pad  of  any  kind,  and  apparently  must  cut  into  the 
horse’s  flesh.  I did  not,  however,  see  the  terrible  sights  of 
wounded  horses  such  as  one  secs  any  day  on  the  horse  roads 
of  West  China.  I should  think  that  the  Nosu  are  kinder  to 
their  horses  than  the  Chinese,  who  arc  at  times  unmerciful 
to  the  beasts  of  burden. 

As  we  neared  the  end  of  the  day’s  journey  we  came  to  a 
rock  on  w'hich  was  a piece  of  coarse  bamboo  matting.  On 
the  matting  was  a chopping-block,  and  near  by  a bag  contain- 
ing something  or  other.  Just  what  was  in  the  bag  we  did 
not  find  out.  This  was  the  work  of  some  wizard  trying  to 
get  rid  of  the  demon  of  sorrow's.  If  one  only  knew  how  to 
get  rid  of  the  sorrow  of  all  these  Nosu  and  the  other  tribes  ! 
Apparently  there  is  only  one  way,  the  way  which  the  Man 
of  Sorrows  announced  to  the  world  centuries  ago,  and  lost 
His  life  in  doing  so. 

The  day’s  journey  was  finished  at  half-past  two,  when  we 
reached  a village  named  Gu-tieh.  We  were  very  hungry,  and 
glad  to  reach  the  end  of  our  day’s  march.  Entering  the 
wattle  gate  at  the  end  of  the  village  we  w'ere  first  shown  into 
a slave’s  house  and  all  sat  down  by  the  fire.  Here  w'e  re- 
mained some  time,  wondering  what  treatment  the  lord  of 
the  village  was  going  to  mete  out  to  us.  The  first  thing  given 
us  to  appease  our  hunger  was  a lot  of  raw  turnips.  This 
place  is  famous  for  its  sweet  turnips,  and  our  men  were 
delighted  to  get  them.  I was  so  himgry  that  I felt  I could 
eat  almost  anything.  VATiile  we  were  eating  the  turnips  a 


198 


ON  THE  MARCH  AGAIN 


number  of  girls  came  in  to  have  a look  at  the  black-bear  man. 
They  were  evidently  as  interested  as  I was,  possibly  more 
so.  At  any  rate  they  w'ere  not  in  the  least  bit  shy,  and  were 
determined  to  make  the  best  use  of  their  opportimity  to  find 
out  all  about  the  man  who  had  dropped  down  among  them, 
so  they  said,  as  a star  from  the  sky.  So  much  of  what  one 
writes  is  written  from  one’s  own  standpoint.  It  would  be 
nice  to  know  just  what  those  people  thought  as  they  saw  a 
European  for  the  first  time.  Maybe  one  might  learn  a few 
things  worth  learning  if  one  could  get  their  real  opinion,  and 
possibly  might  feel  much  wiser  and  humbler  if  one  knew 
their  minds  as  well  as  one  knows  his  own.  I would  give  a lot 
to  know  just  what  those  girls  thought  and  said  to  each 
other  the  day  after  we  left  Gu-tieh.  Whatever  the  girls 
thought,  I know  that  the  foreigner  thinks  they  were  a jolly 
set  of  damsels,  whom  it  was  a pleasure  to  see,  and  he  hopes 
they  are  living  happy  ever  after  with  folk  w’ho  are  kind  to 
them. 

Over  the  door  of  the  room  where  we  were  resting  there 
were  hung  some  small  bamboo  charms  and  some  slips  of 
wood  on  which  were  written  Nosu  characters.  They  were 
charms  against  evil  spirits.  I noticed  something  of  the 
kind  over  the  door  of  nearly  every  house  we  came  to.  The 
fear  of  malignant  influences  is  everywhere  jjrevalent. 

By-and-by  a man  came  in  from  the  overlord’s  room  with 
a big  bueket  of  oatmeal  and  a lot  of  basins.  Nearly  all  ate 
the  oatmeal  with  cold  water,  taken  out  of  a long  trough  in 
which  the  drinking-water  was  stored.  This  oatmeal  and  cold 
water  is  one  of  the  most  common  dishes  among  all  the  hillmen 
of  West  China.  Cold  water  is  put  in  the  basin  first,  and  then 
several  wooden  spoonfuls  of  meal  are  put  on  the  top  of  the 


ON  THE  MARCH  AGAIN 


190 


water.  The  whole  is  stirred  around  to  a consistency  to  suit 
the  taste  of  the  eater.  Men  will  travel  for  days,  or  even  weeks, 
eating  nothing  but  this.  They  take  the  meal  by  the  side  of 
a spring,  and  often  sleep,  as  they  travel  in  the  open  at  night. 
To  those  w'ho  like  it,  these  meals  of  “ brose  ” are  very  satis- 
fying. I enjoy  such  meals  fairly  w'ell,  but  always  have  boil- 
ing water  if  it  is  possible  to  obtain  it.  Usually  a fire  by  the 
roadside  is  easily  made,  and  boiling  water  is  but  a matter  of 
a few  minutes  if  one  happens  to  have  with  him  his  small 
copper  kettle. 

The  amount  of  oatmeal  eaten  in  this  way  by  some  of  the 
men  is  very  great.  I have  known  them  eat  two  pounds,  or 
even  three,  and  I have  heard  of  some  eating  still  more.  One 
man  was  said  to  eat  five  or  six  pounds  of  the  meal  at  a time, 
and  on  this  to  go  a journey  of  three  or  four  days,  taking 
nothing  on  the  way  but  water.  This,  however,  is  a pheno- 
menal exeeption. 

Every  guest  eating  this  oatmeal  was  supposed  to  leave  his 
basin  quite  elean.  Nothing  at  all  must  be  left  in  it.  The  men, 
both  Nosu  and  Chinese,  were  very  thankful  to  get  this  meal 
of  brose.  ]\Iy  Chinese  boy  was  beginning  to  have  enough 
of  Nosuland  and  its  food.  Tlie  absence  of  rice,  and  the  coarse 
cooking,  with  scarcely  any  flavour  of  salt,  let  alone  the  other 
flavours  which  are  so  highly  prized  by  the  Chinese  every- 
where, began  to  tell  on  the  tempers  of  the  men  who  were  not 
Nosu,  and  they  were  wishing  themselves,  like  the  Hebrews, 
back  among  the  leeks  and  garlic  of  Egypt  once  more.  This, 
however,  made  no  difference  to  me.  For  once  I was  master 
of  the  situation  as  it  concerned  them.  In  their  own  neigh- 
bourhood, if  they  did  not  like  what  was  given  them  at  meals 
they  could  strike,  or  resign  or  take  it  out  of  their  employer 


200 


ON  THE  MARCH  AGAIN 


in  twenty  different  ways.  Here,  however,  then’  only  safety 
was  to  stick  to  me.  Had  they  attempted  to  clear  out  or  run 
away  they  would  have  been  picked  up  anywhere  by  the  first 
person  meeting  them,  and  they  would  have  been  lucky  to  have 
escaped  being  made  slaves  of.  It  was  a treat  to  have  the 
upper  hand  for  once.  Every  traveller  in  China  knows  W'hat 
it  is  to  be  in  the  hands  of  his  coolies,  who  are  sometimes  un- 
scrupulous men  who  know  only  too  well  how  to  get  their  own 
and  more  out  of  their  employer.  I watched  the  discomfort 
of  the  Chinese,  and  for  once  did  not  feel  very  perturbed.  I 
knew  that  if  they  only  held  out  a few  days  longer  they  would 
probably  be  back  where  they  would  be  able  to  get  as  much 
sourkrout  and  chillies  and  salt  and  pork  as  they  cared  to  eat 
at  a meal. 

We  had  now  come  to  the  lands  of  another  clan,  the  Njeh 
clan,  and  the  home  we  were  visiting  was  that  of  the  old 
chieftain  who  ruled  over  his  people  in  all  the  district.  W'e 
heard  that  there  was  a big  quarrel  between  this  clan  and 
another,  and  that  there  had  already  been  fighting,  with  some 
loss  of  life.  Mr  Long  was  very  anxious  that  the  foreign 
missionary  should  in  some  way  try  to  make  peace,  and  in 
these  circumstances  we  wondered  what  kind  of  a welcome 
the  old  chief  would  give  us  and  what  we  should  be  able  to 
do  for  him  in  the  troubles  which  seemed  likely  to  grow  rather 
than  lessen.  After  the  oatmeal  was  gone  we  sat  awhile,  and 
were  then  invited  up  to  the  chief  department,  where  the  head 
of  the  clan  awaital  us. 


CHAPTER  XIX 


now  WE  STOPPED  THE  FIGHT 

AS  soon  as  the  chief  of  the  Njeh  clan  invited  us  up  to 
his  apartments  we  went.  The  room  we  entered  was 
ten  yards  long,  and  at  one  end  there  was  the  usual 
fire.  The  chief  was  sitting  on  the  other  side  of  the  fire,  waiting 
for  his  guests.  As  we  came  in  he  made  no  movement  but  .sat 
on  where  he  was,  as  quiet  and  grave  as  if  he  had  been  one  of 
Fenimore  Cooper’s  great  chiefs  come  to  life  again  in  West 
China.  We  walked  towards  the  fire  and  sat  down  close  to 
the  warm,  inviting  blaze.  The  first  tiling  done  was  a presenta- 
tion of  wine  all  round.  I don’t  think  they  could  quite  under- 
stand why  I never  drank  any.  While  the  rest  were  going 
through  this  ceremonial  drinking  I looked  around,  and 
noticed  that  the  house  we  were  now  in  was  larger  and  better 
built  than  most  of  the  houses  w^e  had  been  in.  The  beams 
supporting  the  roof  were  of  great  size,  and  the  pillars  on 
which  these  beams  rested  were  more  than  a foot  in  diameter. 
There  were  four  rooms  in  the  house,  all  without  partitions, 
and  the  one  in  w'hich  we  sat  was  the  largest.  As  is  customary 
with  these  Nosu  houses,  the  roofing  was  of  thin  pine  boards. 
When  these  boards  are  well  laid  on  they  defy  the  weather, 
and  very  little  leaking  takes  place.  None  of  the  houses  are 
built  high.  I was  told  that  the  reason  for  this  was  that  in 
the  clan  fighting  house-bmming  forms  an  important  part  of 
the  aim  of  the  fighters.  The  burning  of  a house  wipes  out  a 
blood  feud,  and  life  need  not  be  taken  after  a house  is  burnt. 


201 


202  HOW  WE  STOPPED  THE  FIGHT 


For  this  reason  even  the  great  chiefs  do  not  trouble  to  build 
such  fine  houses  as  do  the  Nosu  who  live  in  Chinese  territory. 
In  the  latter  I have  often  seen  the  houses  of  the  Earth  Eyes 
built  in  much  finer  style  than  the  dwellings  of  the  large 
officials  who  live  in  the  prefectural  cities.  Here  in  Nosuland 
if  a house  is  burnt  down  it  is  not  an  irreparable  loss. 

Sitting  by  the  wood  fire  on  the  floor  I was  fortunate  enough 
to  have  one  of  the  house  pillars  at  my  back,  so  that  I could 
lean  against  it.  Just  by  my  side  were  eight  guns,  mostly 
of  a rude  pattern,  far  different  from  the  modern  rifles 
which  in  some  way  or  other  find  their  way  into  this  hill 
country. 

We  soon  learned  particulars  of  the  fighting  which  had 
taken  place  not  long  before  between  the  Njeh  tribe  and 
several  other  clans.  In  the  seventh  moon  seven  clans  had 
gathered  together  their  forces,  and  with  a strong  band  of 
several  hundred  fighting  men  had  invaded  chief  Njeh’s 
lands.  At  first  the  chief  did  not  take  the  matter  very  seri- 
ously, and  made  no  great  attempt  to  resist  the  raiders.  But 
when  three  of  his  slaves  were  killed  and  a number  of  his 
men  captured  he  woke  up.  His  slaves  all  over  the  district 
demanded  revenge,  and  unless  the  old  man  took  the  matter 
up  seriously  he  would  lose  face  in  the  eyes  of  everybody. 
Seeing  the  turn  in  the  state  of  affairs,  and  that  Chief  Njeh 
was  determined  to  punish  the  raiders  as  far  as  he  could,  the 
other  side  began  to  temporise  and  made  a peace  offer  of  nine 
head  of  cattle.  In  this  way  they  hoped  to  gain  time  for 
further  negotiations,  as  it  was  not  convenient  just  then  for 
the  enemy  to  make  preparations  for  resisting  a raid  into  their 
territory.  When  the  New  Year  came  around,  if  the  further 
negotiations  failed,  they  were  prepared  to  fight  again.  It 


HOW  WE  STOPPED  THE  EIGHT  203 


was  realised  on  both  sides  that  in  some  way  or  other  the  blocKl- 
stains  must  be  wiped  out.  This  could  be  done  either  by 
shedding  of  more  blocxl,  by  burning  of  houses,  or  by  payment 
of  an  indemnity.  For  a slave  the  indemnity  is  sixty  ounces 
of  silver,  or  an  equivalent ; for  a Black  Blood  99 ‘99  ounces  ; 
and  for  an  Earth  Eye  a sum  of  over  a hundred. 

Evidently  Mr  Njeh  had  heard  some  marvellous  stories  of 
the  prowess  of  the  foreigner,  for  he  felt  sure  that  we  had 
means  at  our  disposal  which  w'ould  render  his  victory  over  his 
enemies  quite  certain.  Someone  had  told  him  that  I possessed 
medicine  which  if  scattered  in  the  air  would  take  away  all 
the  strength  of  the  enemy,  and  so  render  them  quite  power- 
less. When  we  were  talking  about  this  matter  I laughed 
heartily  and  denied  the  possession  of  any  such  marvellous 
powers.  The  chief  was  very  disappointed  that  I did  not 
possess  in  my  armoury  the  powerful  weapons  he  was  in  need 
of.  He  was  determined,  however,  not  to  be  denied,  and 
told  us  that  he  would  send  word  to  the  enemy  that  I had 
given  him  a good  supply  of  the  deadly  medicine,  and  that  if 
they  did  not  agree  to  his  terms  he  would  give  them  a taste 
of  the  new  powerful  weapons  I had  placed  at  his  disposal. 
The  ignorance  of  his  enemies  evidently  added  much  to  the 
strength  of  his  diplomacy.  He  assured  me  that  his  story 
would  be  readily  believed,  and  that  he  was  bound  to  win. 
We  smiled,  and  wondered.  What  yams  my  men  had  been 
telling  about  me  I did  not  know,  but  it  was  very  interesting 
to  be  livnng  in  a world  of  magic  and  demons.  It  was  as  if 
one  were  back  in  the  golden  days  again,  when  all  the  stories 
of  Hans  Andersen  were  more  real  than  all  the  newspaper  yams 
the  growTi-ups  and  the  Philistines  were  always  exciting  their 
brains  about.  It  was  grand  to  be  in  fairyland  once  more. 


204  HOW  WE  STOPPED  THE  FIGHT 


Some  folk  never  lose  their  interest  in  fairy  tales,  and  I ean 
enjoy  these  stories  even  now  with  a great  relish.  It  may  be 
a sign  of  peeuliar  taste,  but  I am  sure  I could  now  read  some 
of  the  stories  in  The  Arabian  Nights  with  far  more  interest 
than  I could  some  of  Meredith’s  novels  or  all  the  books  that 
Hall  Caine  has  ever  written  or  will  write.  And  sometimes  I 
think  that  this  is,  after  all,  not  a sign  of  a depraved,  peculiar 
taste.  While  in  Nosuland  I often  wondered  what  would 
have  happened  if  the  people  had  refused  to  believe  the  yams 
my  men  told  them,  and  had  understood  that  I was  just  an 
ordinary  British  missionary,  with  the  usual  characteristics 
of  an  adventurous  West  of  England  man,  but  with  not  a sign 
of  a gun  or  other  weapon  in  all  my  house.  The  tmth  is,  I 
was  a stranger  of  a type  they  had  never  before  come  across, 
and  had  scarcely  ever  heard  of.  None  of  them  had  time  or 
courage  to  take  my  true  measure,  and  after  all  it  suited  them 
to  think  that  an  extraordinary  guest  had  honoured  them  by 
paying  them  a visit.  Of  course  I had  no  means  of  stopping 
my  Nosu  companions  from  yarning  like  a Baron  Munchausen, 
for  I did  not  know  more  than  a very  little  of  the  language 
they  were  using. 

After  talking  about  the  deadly  wonderful  medicine  the  old 
chief  began  to  propose  that  the  stranger  who  had  come  into 
their  midst  should  become  a chief  of  four  of  their  tribes,  the 
Njeh,  the  La-chee,  the  Ren-li  and  the  Nhc.  If  I would 
agree  they  would  come  in  full  force  to  my  help  at  any  time, 
and  in  return  I was  to  do  all  I possibly  could  for  them.  I 
laughed  up  my  sleeve,  and  the  very  fancy  of  my  doing  this 
kept  me  merry  for  a long  time. 

The  indoors  temperature  of  the  house  where  we  were 
staying  was  30°  F.  Some  of  the  folk  who  were  not  near  the 


HOW  WE  STOPPED  THE  FIGHT  205 


fire  were  very  cold  indeed.  We  who  were  near  the  bui’uing 
logs  only  just  kept  warm. 

The  next  morning  our  host  brought  out  a young  black  bear 
with  a very  fine  fm’,  and  this  he  wished  to  present  to  me. 
He  said  it  would  make  a fine  plaything  for  my  boys  who  were 
in  Chaotung.  I was  told  that  some  of  the  bears  on  the  hills 
around  there  were  as  much  as  four  hundred  pounds  in  weight. 
I have  talked  to  men  who  have  had  encounters  with  these 
bears.  Bruin  docs  a lot  of  damage  to  the  maize  crops,  and 
has  the  usual  weakness  for  honey.  Many  a time  he  will 
knock  over  a hive  in  order  to  get  at  the  sweet  stores.  Ap- 
parently all  the  efforts  of  the  bees  to  sting  them  are  futile, 
for  the  bear  goes  on  with  his  meal,  regardless  of  all  the  angry 
little  winged  creatures  can  do.  One  man  told  me  of  an 
encounter  between  a tiger  and  a bear  which  was  witnessed. 
The  tiger  stalked  the  bear  and  then  sprang  at  him.  The 
bear,  however,  was  ready,  and  caught  “ stripes  ” with  his 
paws.  Then  he  made  a supreme  effort  and  threw  the  tiger 
down  the  hill  with  great  force.  The  latter  was  so  surprised 
at  this  unusual  reception  that  he  gave  it  up  and  ran  away. 
When  the  hunters  are  pursued  by  a bear,  which  often 
happens,  they  run  up-hill  and  soon  gain  on  the  animal,  who 
finds  it  very  difficult  to  ascend  rapidly.  Some  of  the  animals 
caught  are  very  fat.  In  one  house  where  I have  stayed  two 
or  tliree  times,  the  vegetables  cooked  for  the  guests  are  usually 
fried  in  bear’s  fat.  I did  not  notice  any  difference,  and 
imagined  I was  eating  the  usual  pork  fat.  I was  told  that 
when  the  female  bear  is  pregnant  she  is  very  mild  and  will 
not  attack  anybody,  but  as  soon  as  she  has  her  young  ones 
she  is  very  fierce  and  will  attack  anybody  and  anything. 

I told  my  host  that  I did  not  wish  to  take  the  bear,  as  I 


206  HOW  WE  STOPPED  THE  FIGHT 


was  afraid  there  might  be  trouble  with  it,  especially  when  it 
got  into  the  neighbourhood  of  two  or  three  lively  English 
boys.  He  then  said  he  would  catch  and  bring  across  to  my 
home  a couple  of  golden  pheasants,  which  were  then  very 
plentiful  on  the  West  China  hills.  The  insane  foreign  demand 
for  the  skins  of  these  pheasants  had  not  yet  reached  this 
district,  and  those  beautiful  bh’ds,  one  of  the  loveliest  denizens 
of  the  hills,  were  left  in  peace.  In  the  last  two  years  a 
ruthless  warfare  has  been  waged,  and  in  some  places  the 
male  birds  have  been  exterminated.  No  wonder  the  Chinese 
and  aboriginals  do  not  understand  why  these  skins  are  in 
such  demand,  and  it  is  not  a pleasant  task  to  satisfy  the 
curiosity  of  those  who  wonder.  That  our  women,  who  are 
supposed  to  be  the  gentler  sex,  can  be  parties  to  the  cruel, 
exterminating  slaughter  of  some  of  the  most  beautiful  birds 
in  nature,  has  never  yet  dawned  on  the  minds  of  these  people. 
I wish  that  in  some  way  these  birds  could  know  enough  of 
science  to  secrete  some  deadly  juice  in  their  feathers,  which 
would  cause  violent  headaches  to  all  who  wear  them,  and 
then  there  would  be  some  chance  of  the  birds  being  allowed 
to  continue  to  live  their  lives  in  peace  and  beauty.  It  is  a 
disgrace  to  Western  civilisation  and  a blot  on  the  female 
sex  that  so  much  beauty  must  be  destroyed  ruthlessly, 
that  the  women  may  follow  the  dictates  of  an  insane,  cmel, 
heartless  fashion.  It  annoys  one  every  time  one  sees  a load 
of  these  skins  going  along  in  the  direction  of  rail  head,  where 
they  will  be  shi^iped  to  the  continent  I hail  from,  and  your 
annoyance  is  not  lessened  when  some  friend,  whose  respect 
you  prize,  comes  along  and  wants  to  know  why  there  is  such 
a demand  for  these  skins  in  your  country.  1 sincerely  hope 
that  a better  day  is  dawning  for  the  beautiful  birds  of  West 


now  to:  stopped  the  fight  207 


China.  It  is  possible  that  China  will  entirely  prohibit  the 
exportation  of  such  skins. 

The  old  chief,  among  his  other  weapons,  had  a fine  sword, 
with  handle  cased  in  silver  and  with  the  hilt  ornamented 
with  the  same  metal.  At  the  end  of  the  handle  was  a flat, 
round  knob  of  silver,  looking  like  a small  Spanish  grandee’s 
hat.  The  sword  was  worth  about  five  pounds.  I noticed 
that  the  chief  wore  a pair  of  felt  socks,  each  sock  made  in  one 
piece  and  beautifully  warm. 

In  the  morning  we  all  clung  to  the  fire,  and  with  the  door 
shut  the  place  was  very  dark.  Except  when  the  wood  blazed 
up,  it  was  too  dark  to  see  each  other’s  faces  across  the  fire. 
As  I made  my  notes  I could  not  see  a single  letter  of  what  I 
vTote.  It  was  not  too  dark,  however,  to  find  out  that  the 
constant  squatting  on  the  floor  was  ruination  to  the  suit 
of  clothes  I was  wearing.  It  did  not  matter  a great  deal, 
for  when  in  Chinese  territory  I always  wear  Chinese  clothes? 
and  it  was  only  necessary  for  this  suit  to  keep  together  until 
I got  back  over  the  Yangtse  again. 

Our  host  was  very  anxious  to  kill  an  ox  for  us  that  morning, 
but  as  we  were  anxious  to  push  on  to  another  farmstead  we 
begged  him  to  let  us  off  this  time.  After  a lot  of  trouble 
we  got  our  ovm  way,  and  fowls  were  killed  instead  of  the  ox. 
Once  more  the  chief  pressed  his  idea  of  making  the  foreigner 
head  of  the  four  clans.  So  earnest  was  he  in  this  that  I 
began  to  feel  very  uncomfortable.  In  the  abstract  the  idea 
was  all  right,  and  to  a wanderer  in  search  of  adventures 
merely,  it  would  be  a regular  godsend.  Anything  out  of  the 
ordinary  is  what  one  likes,  and  here  there  seemed  a prospect 
of  something  very  much  out  of  the  ordinary.  Fancy  a 
missionary  riding  at  the  head  of  a band  of  Black  Bloods, 


208  HOW  WE  STOPPED  THE  FIGHT 


every  one  of  them  good  horsemen  and  villainous  gentlemen 
to  the  tips  of  their  fingers.  If  one  had  only  taken  on  the 
proposal  one  could  have  made  Nosuland  hum  for  a few  years. 
What  would  have  been  the  end  of  it  ? Would  these  men 
have  developed  an  attack  of  pique,  as  when  they  helped  fight 
the  Mohammedans,  and  would  they  have  retired,  as  they  did 
then,  and  left  me  to  be  destroyed  alone  ? I can  imagine  how 
I should  have  been  criticised  had  I agreed  to  their  plans, 
and  if,  after  a few  years,  I had  failed,  and  got  away  alive, 
how  I should  have  been  laughed  at  by  friends  new  and  old. 
But  what  a book  one  could  have  written,  and  what  yams 
my  wife  could  have  told  of  her  adventures  as  an  Oriental 
princess  or  a mountain  chieftainess  ! Some  men  would  have 
taken  it  on  without  hesitation.  That  I did  not  was  owing 
to  the  fact  that  flowing  in  with  my  West  Country  adven- 
turous blood  there  was  something  else  which  gripped  and 
compelled  me  to  obey  an  earlier  call,  which  might  mean 
less  adventure  but  would  surely  mean  more  real  success  in 
the  end. 

While  at  Gu-tieh  I purchased  a felt  cloak  for  about  seven 
shillings,  and  was  very  glad  to  get  it  on  over  my  other  clothes. 
There  is  a fashion  among  the  Nosu  in  wearing  cloaks.  Differ- 
ent districts  wear  them  in  different  ways.  1 was  duly 
initiated  in  the  correct  way  of  wearing  mine. 

Some  months  after  we  left  the  hospitable  home  of  the  chief 
of  the  Njeh  clan,  who  was  preparing  for  his  war  of  revenge, 
a very  line  member  of  his  tribe  came  across  to  Chaotung. 
He  was  one  of  the  finest  of  the  Nosu  1 have  ever  seen,  and 
though  so  big  he  moved  about  the  house  in  the  (juictest  way. 
He  stayed  with  us  for  some  time,  giving  me  lessons  in  tlie 
Nosu  language  and  telling  me  much  that  1 wishal  to  know. 


now  wi<:  STOPPED  the  fight  209 


He  had  a square,  well-built  face,  with  one  or  two  side  teeth 
missing.  He  told  me  that  these  had  been  knocked  out  in  a 
dnmken  quarrel  some  years  before.  Being  clean-shaven,  he 
looked  nearer  thirty  than  the  fifty  he  really  was.  This  man, 
Nya-pa,  was  wandering  about  the  house  one  day  in  his  quiet 
way,  for  we  let  him  go  anywhere  and  do  as  he  liked,  when 
he  caught  sight  of  himself  in  a looking-glass.  He  stopped, 
looked  intently,  and  then  there  came  over  his  face  a look  of 
deep  distress.  My  wife  noticed  his  distress,  and  asked  him 
what  was  the  matter.  He  replied  : “ Do  I really  look  like 
that  ? ” I suppose  he  had  lived  in  dreams,  imagining  himself 
still  a handsome  young  man,  the  pride  of  the  country-side, 
and  the  hero  of  all  the  slave  girls.  Now,  by  one  fell  revelation 
of  the  looking-glass,  he  saw  himself  as  he  was,  and  not  as 
he  had  dreamed  he  was.  Poor  old  gentle  Nya-pa  ! We  all 
get  that  experience  sooner  or  later. 

We  heard  from  him  the  outcome  of  the  quarrel  between  his 
chief  and  the  other  clans.  The  story  of  the  marvellous 
medicine  had  worked  the  oracle.  It  had  had  the  effect  the 
chief  had  prophesied.  The  enemies  had  been  scared  by  the 
reports  they  had  heard  of  the  powerful  foreign  friend  of 
Chief  Njeh  and  had  made  full  compensation  for  their  former 
raid.  One  hundred  head  of  cattle  were  given,  and  Chief  Njeh 
was  able  to  lift  his  head  high  up  again.  The  visit  of  the 
foreign  wanderer  had  been  a profitable  one  for  the  old  man 
who  sat  at  the  head  of  the  fire,  in  dignified  silence,  waiting 
for  his  guests. 


o 


CHAPTER  XX 


RAPIDS  AHEAD 

WE  got  away  from  Gu-tieh  about  twelve  o’eloek, 
and  made  our  way  towards  a farmhouse  where 
lived  Vri-ha.  He  was  the  man  who  had  met  us  the 
first  night  we  stayed  in  Nosuland,  the  man  whom  the  Defender 
of  the  Yangtse  had  tried  to  make  his  tool,  in  bringing  to  a 
disastrous  end  the  foreigner  who  had  determined  to  get  into 
Nosuland  the  unknown.  The  weather  was  still  desperately 
cold,  and  I was  glad  we  were  walking  and  not  on  horseback. 
At  the  end  of  the  first  six  miles  we  halted  for  a while  at 
Shih-ha  Chieh-ku.  This  is  a village  of  a few  houses.  A 
number  of  the  people  came  out  to  see  us,  and  sat  down  on 
the  cold  groimd  to  watch  us  at  leisure.  One  woman  felt 
very  cold,  and  called  out  something  to  a man  standing  by. 
Immediately  he  came  across,  sat  down  bchmd  the  woman 
who  had  called  him,  and  threw  his  long  cloak  over  her  as 
well.  The  one  cloak  thus  sheltered  the  two.  This  action 
of  the  man  struck  me  at  once,  and  the  sight  of  the  two 
sharing  the  same  cloak  was  one  which  I had  nev^er  seen  in 
China  proper,  where  there  is  such  a barrier  between  the  sexes. 
Whether  it  was  her  husband  or  her  brother  I do  not  know. 
I thought  it  was  her  husband,  and  was  pleased  to  see  how  kind 
he  was  to  his  wife.  Presently  a young  girl  of  about  twelve 
joined  them,  and  they  all  three  huddled  together,  sheltered 
by  the  same  cloak.  In  China,  if  a husband  is  with  friends, 
and  should  by  any  accident  meet  his  wife  on  the  street,  he 


210 


RAPIDS  AHEAD 


211 


will  probably  pass  by,  without  taking  the  slightest  notice 
of  her.  As  to  putting  himself  out  to  share  a cloak  or  an 
umbrella  with  her,  it  was  and  is  almost  imknown.  Whatever 
else  China  is,  she  is  not  the  land  of  chivalry.  After  the 
Revolution  of  1911  things  changed  somewhat,  and  women 
began  to  come  a little  more  to  the  fore.  Men  and  women 
mixed  more  freely.  In  places  nearer  the  coast,  men  and 
women  walking  arm  in  ann  could  be  seen.  That,  however, 
is  too  great  a change  to  be  realised  in  inland  China,  where  old 
customs  arc  still  prevalent,  and  where  the  men  arc  still  the 
lords  of  creation,  and  treat  the  women  as  if  they  were  only 
necessary  adjuncts  to  their  lordly  existence.  After  many 
years  amongst  this  unchivalrous  people,  it  was  a great  treat 
to  spend  some  days  among  the  people  where  men  are  not 
ashamed  to  be  kind  to  women,  and  where  women  arc  not 
ashamed  to  look  straight  into  a man’s  face  and  answer  his 
questions.  I shall  not  easily  forget  the  man  at  Shih-ha 
Chieh-ku  who  threw  his  cloak  over  the  woman,  and  so 
sheltered  her  from  the  biting  cold  of  that  December  day. 

One  of  the  women  who  came  out  to  see  us  had  a small 
wool  spmning-wheel  stuck  in  her  hair.  Every  now  and  again 
she  took  it  out  and  began  to  twist  it,  letting  it  fall  as  she  did 
so,  thus  making  thread  from  a bundle  of  coarse  wool  she  had. 
With  this  woollen  thread  a kind  of  serge  is  made,  and  used 
by  the  women  in  making  their  skirts. 

On  the  way  we  received  an  invitation  to  attend  a crema- 
tion, which  was  to  take  place  on  the  morrow,  I should  very 
much  like  to  have  attended  this  up-to-date  ceremony.  It 
was,  however,  impossible  to  go  unless  we  broke  the  plans 
made  for  us  by  the  kind  friends  we  were  the  guests  of. 

Up  until  now  I had  thoroughly  enjoyed  my  stay  among 


212 


RAPIDS  AHEAD 


these  brave  hill -people.  The  freshness  of  it  all,  the  absolute 
un-Chinese  life  and  customs  of  the  people,  the  friendliness  of 
the  farmers,  their  evident  efforts  to  please,  the  fact  that  I 
was  treading  on  ground  no  European  had  ever  trodden  before, 
the  absolute  absence  of  all  the  affairs  that  worry  one  at  a 
mission-house,  the  fact  that  one  had  to  prepare  no  sermons 
or  conduct  catechumen  classes,  and  had  practically  left  all 
behind  one,  helped  one  to  feel  very  jolly  and  comfortable. 
No  boys  at  school  feel  better  when  half-holiday  comes  round, 
or  when  vacation  draws  near,  than  I felt  wandering  as  a 
black  bear  in  Nosuland.  One  very  rarely  gets  a holiday 
in  West  China  missionary  work,  and  wherever  one  goes  the 
worrying  cares  of  the  churches  follow  one.  For  instance, 
as  last  Thursday  I was  writing  Chapters  VI.  and  VII.  of  this 
book  in  my  study,  quite  forty  persons  came  to  me  at  one 
time  or  another,  wanting  my  help  or  guidance  in  all  kinds 
of  troubles.  The  variety  of  the  troubles  helps  one  along. 
If  there  were  not  this  variety  one  would  soon  be  crushed 
mentally  under  the  monotony  of  it  all.  Twms  are  born  and 
the  mother  dies.  The  little  girls  are  put  aside  to  follow  the 
mother,  but  they  refuse  to  be  put  off  in  this  way.  They 
make  such  a noise  that  it  is  resolved  to  save  them  if  possible. 
One  woman  offers  to  feed  one  little  one,  and  now  the  widower 
has  come  to  the  missionary  to  see  if  he  can  help  him  out  of 
the  difficulty  with  the  other.  Typhoid  fever  has  broken 
out  in  a village,  and  the  people  have  sent  to  the  missionary 
to  see  what  can  be  done  for  them.  Then  a girl  comes  into 
the  study  with  the  story  that  her  parents  have  engaged  her, 
against  her  wish,  to  a young  fellow  she  detests,  and  will  the 
missionary  help  her  to  get  out  of  the  entanglement.  Fortun- 
ately or  unfortunately,  the  missionary  usually  sides  with  all 


RAPIDS  AHEAD 


213 


those  young  girls  who  bring  such  stories,  and  does  his  best 
to  get  them  out  of  their  difficulty.  Being  happily  married 
himself,  he  tries  hard  to  prevent  any  girls  being  married 
except  where  they  will  be  happy.  Sometimes  after  taking 
up  the  cudgels  on  behalf  of  the  unwilling  girl  he  gets  let  in 
splendidly  by  the  girl  going  off  to  marry  the  fellow  she  detests, 
and  doing  it  willingly.  Her  visit  to  the  missionary  w’as  only 
one  of  Fanny’s  pretty  w'ays.  Then  comes  a woman  whose 
husband  is  suffering  from  pneumonia,  and  she  knows  it  is 
because  a wizard  in  their  village  has  put  a spell  on  the  sick 
man.  Can  the  missionary  come  and  pray  with  the  sick  man, 
and  so  break  the  wizard’s  pow’cr  ? Then  a preacher  from  an 
out  station  comes  in  with  a lot  of  trouble  he  is  unable  to 
settle.  And  so  on  through  a long  list.  As  the  door  closes, 
and  one  visitor  goes  out,  I set  to  work  and  ^vrite  a few  more 
lines,  fancying  a lull  is  coming  at  last.  But  the  lull  does  not 
come.  There  appears  another  face  up  against  the  glass 
door,  the  door  that  is  window  as  well  as  door,  and  someone 
eagerly  tries  to  focus  his  eyes  through  the  glass  to  see  if  the 
teacher  is  in.  Many  of  the  people  w’ho  come  cannot  look 
through  glass.  Their  eyes  focus  on  the  glass  like  a photog- 
rapher’s on  the  finder  at  the  back  of  the  camera.  Girls 
sometimes  use  the  glass  as  a looking-glass,  taking  their  hair 
down  and  combing  it  out,  quite  unconscious  of  the  teacher 
on  the  other  side,  w^ho  is  smiling  at  their  hair  drill  and 
admiring  the  length  of  the  tresses. 

It  can  easily  be  imagined  that  it  was  a great  treat  to  get 
away  from  one’s  study  and  all  the  troubles  that  walk  into  it. 
In  fact  it  was  a treat  to  get  right  away  from  China  proper, 
and  to  enter  into  a new  life  altogether. 

The  days  had  passed  rapidly.  The  people  had  treated 


214 


RAPIDS  AHEAD 


me  far  better  than  I had  expected,  and  I was  delighted  with 
all  I had  seen.  But  now  a change  was  coming  over  the 
scene.  It  was  as  if  one  were  in  a junk  going  down  the 
Yangtse.  In  many  reaches  the  waters  are  smooth,  and  you 
glide  along  splendidly.  After  a while,  however,  the  whole 
aspect  is  changed,  the  waters  get  swifter,  the  men  with  the 
oars  no  longer  sit  down  smoking  their  pipes  and  lazying  in 
the  sunlight.  Away  in  the  distance  you  can  see  troubled 
waters,  and  rocks,  and  at  once  you  know  you  are  nearing 
one  of  the  many  dangerous  rapids  this  river  is  famous  for. 
All  the  skill  of  the  pilot  is  called  into  requisition.  The 
owner  of  the  boat  takes  the  rudder,  and  shouts  and  stamps 
at  a great  rate  as  he  impels  the  men  to  work  their  hardest 
at  the  oars,  so  that  sufficient  way  can  be  got  on  the  boat  to 
allow  the  rudder  to  act.  He  can  tell  by  the  feel  of  the  long 
rudder  handle  he  grasps  just  how  much  work  the  men  are 
putting  into  their  rowing.  If  all  goes  well  and  there  is  no 
slip,  you  safely  rush  through  the  rapids  and,  a mile  or  two 
below,  sit  down  again  and  laugh  at  the  excitement  of  the 
descent.  But  if  you  slip  or  let  the  boat  get  out  of  control, 
then  there  is  a disaster,  and  some  men  who  will  never  tell 
tales  again. 

In  the  journey  from  Gu-tieh  to  Mao-an-tsz  I began  to  feel 
as  if  the  smooth  waters  were  coming  to  an  end.  There  were 
rocks  and  troubled  waters  ahead,  and  I wanted  to  live  a 
long  time  yet  to  tell  many  tales  if  possible.  What  were  the 
troubled  waters  ahead  ? The  old  saying  that  wherever 
there  is  trouble  you  must  cherchez  la  femme  was  true  in  this 
case.  In  reality,  if  there  were  a woman  in  the  trouble,  there 
were  men  still  deeper  in  it,  and  they  were  really  the  cause  of 
the  troubled  waters  and  rapids  ahead.  The  saying  so  easily 


RAPIDS  AHEAD 


215 


quoted  is  in  reality  the  coining  of  men  who  are  the  descend- 
ants of  Adam,  and  arc  only  too  glad  to  make  a woman  a 
scapegoat  for  their  sins,  instead  of  facing  them  out  and 
bearing  the  punishment  for  them. 

On  the  road  this  day  one  of  Mr  Long’s  relatives  got  into 
conversation  with  me,  and  told  me  that  the  chiefs  of  the 
four  tribes  were  in  earnest  in  their  wish  to  make  me  chief 
of  them  all.  They  thought  they  had  discovered  in  this  plan 
a way  out  of  their  difficulties.  In  order  to  make  sure  of  me, 
they  suggested  going  one  step  further — viz.  giving  one  of  their 
daughters  in  marriage  to  the  wandering  missionary.  \Mien 
I first  heard  this  plan  mooted  I was  highly  amused.  It 
seemed  such  a good  joke.  Had  I been  a journalist,  and 
someone  else  the  missionary  in  this  predicament,  I think  I 
could  have  written  up  the  situation  in  lively  style.  I faney 
I should  have  enjoyed  the  joke  immensely,  and  I think  I 
could  have  made  others  enjoy  it  as  well.  To  begin  with,  the 
proposal  was  just  fun  to  me,  and  I pietured  myself  going 
home  and  telling  my  wife  all  about  it,  trjdng  to  make  her  a 
trifle  jealous,  as  I explained  to  her  that  even  if  she  left  me 
I need  not  be  quite  alone,  for  there  were  others  willing  to 
have  me.  Strange  how  a man  once  now  and  again  likes  to 
make  his  wife  feel  that  he  could  be  independent  of  her, 
while  all  the  time  he  knows  in  his  heart  that  if  she  were 
gone  he  would  wish  to  go  also. 

I heard  one  of  our  Nosu  friends  who  had. come  across  the 
Yangtse  with  us  suggest  to  one  of  the  Chinese  coolies  that 
he  should  sell  the  coolie  to  one  of  the  independents  for  a 
horse,  and  that  later  on  the  coolie  should  run  away  down 
to  the  Yangtse  and  home.  The  coolie,  knowing  that  the 
suggestion  was  made  merely  in  fun,  readily  agreed.  Then 


216 


RAPIDS  AHEAD 


they  told  us  of  a man  who  with  his  own  consent  had  been 
sold  three  times,  and  each  time  had  run  away  in  safety. 

Some  of  the  houses  we  passed  on  our  way  were  built  of 
two  or  three  thicknesses  of  wattle,  and  were  plastered  over 
with  cow-dimg  to  keep  out  the  wind.  The  people  told  us 
these  houses  were  quite  warm. 

Nearing  the  village  where  we  were  to  rest  that  night,  we 
met  a couple  of  horses  sent  for  us  to  ride  on.  The  one  I got 
on  was  a fiery  little  creature,  which  wanted  to  be  off  like  the 
wind.  In  the  miming  my  new  cloak  got  loose  and  dropped 
off.  The  people  with  me  roared  at  this.  Later  on  the  low 
branches  swept  off  my  hat,  and  there  was  another  hearty 
roar.  Two  accidents  in  a ride  of  two  hundred  yards,  which 
was  all  I rode  all  the  time  I was  in  Nosuland  ! We  entered 
the  village  through  a lane  formed  by  bamboos  plaited  to- 
gether. Each  stick  being  covered  with  ice,  the  white  lane 
looked  very  charming  indeed.  These  fences  must  have 
taken  a lot  of  trouble  to  make.  They  evidently  were  in- 
tended to  prevent  the  cattle  from  straying  on  to  the  vegetables 
which  were  grown  in  patches  in  front  of  the  houses. 

When  about  to  enter  a house,  the  visitor  always  stops  for 
a moment  and  gives  a warning  cough,  that  those  inside  may 
not  be  taken  unawares,  and  that  they  may  come  outside  and 
drive  away  the  dogs  from  annoying  the  visitors.  Our  warn- 
ing cough  answered  its  purpose,  and  Vri-ha  was  soon  at  the 
door,  pressing  the  visitors  to  enter.  The  house  was  one  of 
the  usual  low-built  houses,  roofed  with  the  thin  pine  planks. 
A number  of  the  stones  were  on  the  roof  to  keep  the  planks 
from  being  blown  off  by  the  high  winds.  Icicles  were  hang- 
ing down  from  the  roof,  and  under  the  eaves  were  one  or  two 
of  the  long  spears  kept  in  such  places  in  readiness  for  use  as 


A Small  Maukli'  Village  on  the  Hills 


RAPIDS  AHEAD 


217 


occasion  required.  Over  the  door  we  noticed  the  usual 
charms  hung  there  by  the  all-present  wizard.  There  were 
rams’  horns,  several  hoofs  and  a lot  of  small  tablets  with 
Nosu  characters  written  on  them.  In  all  there  were  scores 
of  these  charms  of  one  kind  or  another,  enough,  one  would 
have  thought,  to  have  kept  all  the  disturbing  influences  out 
of  that  home. 

Entering  in,  we  were  delighted  to  see  a huge  fire  blazing 
away  as  if  delighted  to  welcome  so  many  guests.  Vri-ha’s 
father,  an  old  man  of  seventy-four,  gave  us  warm  greetings, 
and  we  were  soon  at  home  once  more  in  one  of  these  hospitable 
Nosu  dwellings.  We  had  only  just  got  seated  when  the 
ceremonial  presentation  of  wine  was  made  to  each  one  of  us. 
The  wine  was  just  the  ordinary  grain  spirit  drunk  so  freely 
by  these  people,  but  the  cups  in  which  the  wine  was  pre- 
sented were  most  remarkable.  I examined  one  of  them 
closely  and  found  it  was  composed  of  the  claw  and  part  of  the 
leg  of  an  eagle.  The  skin  of  the  leg  had  been  stretched 
over  a wooden  cup  and  the  lower  part  of  the  leg  and  the  claw 
formed  the  handle  of  the  cup.  The  cup  could  only  be  put 
down  when  empty,  owing  to  the  irregularity  of  the  claws. 
These  were  the  most  curious  winecups  I have  ever  seen,  and 
when  on  leaving  I was  presented  with  one  of  them,  I felt  I 
had  got  a curio  indeed.  That  the  cup  could  only  stand  up 
when  upside  do%vn  was  no  drawback  to  the  Nosu,  who  have 
no  wish  to  keep  a cup  with  wine  in  it  undrunk  for  any  length 
of  time.  Having  taken  the  cup  in  their  hands,  they  were  not 
anxious  to  put  it  dowm  until  empty.  I wonder  what  the 
eagle  would  say  did  he  know  the  use  his  terrible  claws  were 
being  put  to. 

Ver}’  soon  after  the  presentation  of  the  wine,  conversation 


218 


RAPIDS  AHEAD 


became  general.  I took  stock  of  everything  and  everybody, 
and  then  noticed  that  by  the  side  of  the  old  man  sat  his 
daughter,  a young  girl  of  less  than  twenty.  She  had  the 
usual  long  ear-rings  of  coral  and  amber  beads.  One  string 
of  beads  was  more  than  two  feet  long,  and  the  other  over 
eighteen  inches.  From  each  ear  also  himg  about  a dozen 
silver  chains.  On  one  arm  were  two  bracelets  of  cane,  and 
on  the  other,  the  right  arm,  were  a jade  bracelet  and  one  of 
silver  with  a silver  lock  hanging  from  it.  She  was  smoking 
a long  pipe  with  evident  enjoyment,  and  possibly  was  dream- 
ing some  startling  day-dreams.  This  was  how  I first  saw 
the  girl  with  the  coral  beads  in  her  ears. 


CHAPTER  XXI 


MORE  YARNS  AND  THE  SOLITARY  GIRL 

The  usual  ring  was  formed  around  the  fire.  Every- 
body who  eould  get  a share  of  its  eomfort  did  so. 
There  was  nothing  to  attraet  one  elsewhere.  It  was 
ice  and  snow  outside,  and  when  these  are  about  the  fire  has  no 
rivals  he  need  be  afraid  of.  Every  one  of  the  company  wanted 
to  know  all  about  Nhe-jah-jah,  the  foreigner  from  the  land 
of  the  sunset,  and  to  see  all  the  things  he  had  brought  with 
him.  The  little  patient  figures  went  through  their  move- 
ments, to  the  great  delight  of  the  crowd  around  the  fire.  My 
clothing,  my  hat,  my  watch,  my  whole  paraphernalia  were 
objects  of  the  greatest  curiosity.  Perhaps  the  richest  fun  of 
all  was  caused  by  the  pair  of  red  woollen  gloves  I had  with 
me.  When  I showed  my  hands  with  these  red  gloves  on  there 
was  a great  shout  of  surprise  and  fear.  They  all  thought 
I was  showing  them  my  real  hands  transformed  into  that 
uncanny,  blood -like  condition.  But  when  I took  them  off  and 
showed  them  how  they  were  knitted  of  wool,  there  were  great 
exclamations  of  delight.  The  girl  with  the  coral  beads 
examined  them  very  closely,  and  possibly  wondered  if  later 
on  she  would  be  able  to  make  such  warm,  uncanny-looking 
things  for  the  hands  of  the  lord  of  her  household.  One  of 
the  boys  thought  he  would  have  some  fun  on  his  own.  So 
he  got  hold  of  the  gloves,  put  them  on  and  went  off  to  track 
his  quarry.  Stealthily  approaching  from  behind,  he  suddenly 
thrust  the  two  red  gloves  before  the  face  of  an  unsuspecting 
219 


220  MORE  YARNS  AND  THE  SOLITARY  GIRL 


man.  The  man  thought  the  red  hands  were  at  least  the 
hands  of  a demon  of  disease,  and  was  very  startled  and 
frightened.  That  imp  of  a boy  had  a rare  amount  of  fun 
out  of  the  blood-red  hand,  and  very  possibly  influenced  the 
dreams  and  nightmares  of  some  folk  for  a long  time  to  come. 
There  was  for  a short  time  quite  a stirring  up  of  the  super- 
stitious fears  of  men,  women  and  children.  I quite  expect, 
however,  that  some  of  those  folk  got  their  own  back  again 
from  the  boy,  and  possibly  with  interest  also. 

Wfliile  we  were  chatting  away  I asked  the  father  of  the 
girl  with  the  coral  beads  whether  he  had  ever  been  in  any 
fights.  The  man  smiled  at  the  question,  and  possibly 
wondered  at  the  simplicity  of  the  questioner.  He  may  have 
thought  I was  merely  trying  to  get  at  him.  The  hill-folk 
say  there  are  no  old  men  who  have  not  been  in  fights.  This 
man  had  been  in  many,  and  still  had  the  scars  of  some  of  the 
combats.  He  had  fought  against  other  Nosu  clans  north  of 
the  Yangtse,  and  he  could  also  tell  of  raids  into  Chinese 
territory  south  of  that  river,  where  rich  booty  and  many 
slaves  had  often  rewarded  the  hardy  raiders. 

Most  of  the  guns  used  by  these  people  are  of  local  manu- 
facture, being  just  a long  barrel  of  iron  placed  in  a rough 
wooden  stock.  Hanging  from  the  stock  is  a pair  of  iron 
tweezers,  with  the  points  near  the  touch-hole.  A long  piece 
of  thin  rope  made  from  the  roots  of  pear-trees  is  stuck  in  these 
tweezers,  and  when  the  gun  is  about  to  be  used  the  pear- 
tree  rope  is  ignited.  The  fire  smoulders  for  a long  time. 
Pressing  this  smouldering  pear-tree  rope  against  the  touch- 
hole  fires  the  gun.  Every  man  carries  a small  bone  box 
suspended  around  his  neck,  and  in  this  box  arc  a number  of 
touches  made  of  j:>owder  %vrappcd  in  thin  jiaper,  each  touch 


MORE  YARNS  AND  THE  SOLITARY  GIRL  221 

being  about  an  inch  in  length.  These  are  stuck,  as  needed, 
into  the  touch-hole,  a press  of  the  tweezers  lights  it,  and  off 
goes  the  bullet  on  its  enigmatical  mission.  The  people  are 
adepts  in  the  use  of  these  clumsy  guns,  and  fire  them  fairly 
quickly.  The  supply  of  bullets  is  often  carried  in  the  mouth. 
The  gun  is,  of  course,  loaded  by  the  muzzle  in  the  old  ramrod 
fashion.  They  kick  with  a vengeance.  We  were  out  one 
day  on  some  of  the  hill  ranges  when  in  the  distance  one  of  our 
men  with  good  eyesight  spotted  four  yellow  wolves  coming  in 
our  direction.  We  had  just  lighted  a fire  to  boil  some  water, 
and  were  feeling  very  eomfortable  and  jolly.  One  of  our  men 
had  one  of  these  old  hand-made  guns,  and  it  was  resolved  to 
have  a try  for  the  wolves.  Everybody  lay  down  and  took 
cover.  The  man  who  first  spied  the  wolves  took  a small  leaf, 
and  with  it  made  a noise  like  the  cry  of  a young  deer.  It  was 
done  so  well  that  the  wolves  were  arrested  at  once,  and 
inmiediately  turned  their  direction  towards  the  cry  of  the 
yomig  deer.  The  man  with  the  gun  placed  his  gun  very  near 
the  ashes  of  the  fire,  so  as  perfectly  to  dry  the  powder  inside. 
By-and-by  some  movement  or  other  made  the  wolves 
suspicious,  and  they  stopped.  A moment  or  two  after  they 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  young  deer  spelt  danger  for 
them  and,  turning  again,  they  fled  in  another  direction.  The 
man  with  the  gun  tried  to  cut  them  off,  and  then  fired.  But 
there  was  no  success.  I then  had  a shot,  not  at  the  wolves 
but  at  a stone  not  many  yards  away.  What  came  out  of  the 
muzzle  of  the  gun  hit  the  stone  right  enough,  and  what  came 
away  from  the  end  of  the  stock  hit  my  shoulder  square 
enough.  It  was  a double-firing  gun  of  a truth.  I bore  the 
bruise  on  my  shoulder  for  many  days,  and  am  not  very  keen 
on  having  another  try  with  an  ancient  muzzle-loader. 


222  MORE  YARNS  AND  THE  SOLITARY  GIRL 


Vri-tsuh,  a member  of  the  family,  was  reckoned  the  crack 
shot  in  the  whole  district.  So  often  did  his  bullets  find  their 
billet  that  the  people  said  they  could  go  aroimd  corners 
and  that  it  was  no  use  hiding  from  them.  When  Vri-tsuh 
pointed  his  gun  at  you  you  might  just  as  well  come  and  give 
yourself  up,  for  there  was  no  escape.  While  we  were  at 
Mao-an-tsz,  one  of  Vri-tsuh’s  companions  dressed  up  in  full 
war  dress  and  made  some  sport  for  us.  He  is  said  to  have 
killed  twenty  people,  and,  of  course,  had  a great  reputation 
as  a warrior.  He  was  indeed  wonderfully  dressed.  He  had 
on  a thickly  quilted  scarlet  jacket  which  stones  and  bullets 
fired  from  the  old-fashioned  guns  were  imable  to  pierce.  In 
the  back  of  this  jacket  was  a rent  made  by  a dart  thrown  at 
him  in  one  of  his  fights.  Across  his  shoulders  he  had  a double 
sword-belt,  ornamented  with  polished  white  stones.  From 
this  was  hanging  a long  sword,  with  silver  handle  and  with 
silver  mountings  on  the  sheath.  It  was  estimated  as  worth  a 
hundred  ounces  of  silver.  The  scarlet  coat  was  ornamented 
in  the  centre  and  at  the  edges.  On  his  head  the  warrior  wore 
a large  conical  hat  in  white  and  red.  Around  the  hat  was  a 
yellow  turban,  and  hanging  down  behind,  a long  yellow 
pugaree.  There  were  thick  flaps  to  cover  the  face  if  neces- 
sary. From  the  back  of  the  hat  there  also  hung  down  a long 
flap  with  red  edges,  and  black  and  white  cross-bars.  From 
the  shoulders  there  was  suspended  a huge  yak  tail,  and  by 
the  side  of  this  some  slips  of  ornamented  Chinese  silk.  The 
yak  tail  must  have  been  several  pounds  in  weight.  It  was 
very  heavy.  To  complete  the  array  the  warrior  was  in  bare 
feet,  and  had  a modern  rifle.  He  drew  his  sword  and,  rushing 
all  about,  went  through  various  exercises.  He  invited  me  to 
throw  stones  at  him,  and  I did  so.  Do  what  I could,  I failctl 


MORE  YARNS  AND  THE  SOLITARY  GIRL  223 


to  hit  hini.  Perhaps  a very  swift  bowler  could  have  got  the 
middle  stump,  but  lively,  moving  wickets  might  puzzle  even 
the  best  of  our  professionals.  The  warrior  was  evidently 
very  proud  of  his  achievements,  and  he  certainly  was  very 
agile  indeed. 

When  we  were  all  around  the  fire  again,  waiting  for  the 
evening  meal,  I heard  some  curious  yams.  The  Nosu  say 
tliat  all  rivers  flow  into  the  sea,  where  there  is  a huge  stone 
with  an  open  mouth  which  swallows  up  all  the  flowing  waters. 
Formerly  there  were  sixty-six  suns.  A mythical  hero, 
anxious  to  lessen  the  terrible  heat  from  all  these  balls  of  fire, 
shot  at  them  with  his  arrows,  and  so  well  did  he  shoot  that  he 
killed  sixty  of  them.  Five  others  fled  and  took  refuge  under 
the  sea.  The  remaining  one  he  shot,  and  blinded  it  in  one 
eye.  Does  this  refer  to  sun  spots  which  may  have  been 
observed  long  ago  ? What  the  heat  must  have  been  in  the 
beginning  one  cannot  imagine.  It  is  also  said  that  there 
w'cre  seventy-seven  moons  and  tliat  someone  shot  seventy- 
six  of  them.  The  one  left  was  shot  lame  in  the  leg.  Wliat 
that  refers  to  I cannot  imagine. 

One  of  the  men  around  the  fire  had  been  a great  traveller, 
having  visited  West  and  South  Yunnan,  and  wliat  is  now  the 
French  colony  of  Tongking.  After  telling  us  this  he  capped 
all  by  saying  he  had  been  to  the  “ Woman’s  Kingdom,”  that 
mythical  country  the  existence  of  which  was  stated  in  all  the 
old  Chinese  encyclopaedias.  When  I first  came  to  China 
nearly  all  the  people  one  met  believed  in  this  country  of  the 
ladies,  and  knew  more  about  it  than  they  knew  about  England 
or  America.  This  tmthful  Nosu  traveller  said  that  he  had 
spent  some  time  as  a guest  of  the  Amazons,  who  were  very 
unwilling  to  let  him  leave  them.  I wonder  how'  often  he  had 


224  MORE  YARNS  AND  THE  SOLITARY  GIRL 


told  that  fact  to  his  wife.  He  only  got  away  at  last  by  fixing 
a date  for  his  return.  This  date  had  long  gone  by,  and  I 
suppose  the  disappointed  ladies  have  one  more  evidence  of 
the  unreliable  nature  of  the  male  sex.  The  traveller  de- 
seribed  the  unknown  country  quite  minutely,  and  refused  to 
budge  from  his  stories  in  spite  of  all  the  ridicule  and  imbelief 
we  rewarded  him  with.  He  said  he  could  show  us  the  way 
to  this  paradise  if  we  were  willing  to  go.  I am  very  sorry 
that  other  pressing  business  prevented  me  from  taking  up 
his  ehallenge  and  going  to  visit  that  wonderful  comitry. 
The  unexplored  parts  of  the  earth  are  getting  so  few  that  it 
was  a loss  that  the  chance  of  sueh  a great  journey  of  ex- 
ploration had  perforee  to  be  declined.  Possibly  there  might 
have  been  an  atom  of  truth  in  his  yarn.  He  may  have  gone 
wandering  off  and  become  the  enforeed  guest  in  some 
Buddhist  nunnery,  where  the  lady  abbess  might  have  told  him 
some  tall  stories  which  he  believed  and  later  on  considerably 
enlarged.  It  was  interesting  to  see  that  when  the  man  told 
his  story  he  stuek  to  it  in  spite  of  everything  and  everybody. 

The  inner  circle  around  the  fire  that  listened  to  all  these 
stories  was  composed  of  sixteen  men  and  the  one  solitary  girl 
who  seemed  capable  of  holding  her  own  with  anybody.  F rom 
the  left  ears  of  all  the  men  hung  the  long  ear-rings.  Each 
had  his  head  horn  or  poke  tied  up  at  the  left  side  of  the  head, 
and  all  faces  were  bright  and  merry  as  the  fire  shone  on  them. 
White  rows  of  teeth  were  constantly  visible,  and  there  were 
smiles  all  round,  which  sometimes  developed  into  a hearty 
laugh  or  a tremendous  roar.  Pipes  were  constantly  going, 
and  I noticed,  hanging  from  the  necks  of  many  of  the  men,  the 
touches  for  their  guias.  From  the  necks  of  some  of  them  also 
hung  a little  instrument  of  brass  or  bamboo,  on  which  they 


MORE  YARNS  AND  THE  SOLITARY  GIRL  225 


played  as  the  jews’  harp  is  j)layed.  The  principle  of  the 
instrument  is  just  the  same  as  tliat  of  the  jews’  harp,  and 
the  noise  is  similar. 

Logs  were  frequently  brought  in  to  keep  the  fire  burning  well. 
These  logs  had  snow  on  them  when  they  reached  the  fire. 

Around  the  fire  were  not  only  travellers,  there  were  one  or 
two  also  who  were  a bit  of  philosopher  in  addition  to  the 
rest.  One  such  told  me  that  God  originally  sent  nine  men 
to  create  the  heavens  and  eight  to  make  the  earth.  Man 
originally  came  from  heaven,  and  has  three  souls,  one  of  which 
at  death  returns  to  heaven,  another  goes  with  the  ashes  to 
the  grave,  and  the  third  into  Hades.  This  last  soul  islcallcd 
by  the  wizards,  and  put  into  the  little  baskets  which  arc 
worshipped  in  the  corners  of  the  homes.  The  people  have 
some  idea  of  transmigration,  saying  tliat  bad  men  may 
become  animals  but  animals  never  become  men.  I asked 
whether  the  sheep  which  had  been  killed  for  our  suppers 
might  not  possibly  have  been  one  of  the  Lai-lai  clan  or  the 
Sha-ma  clan,  two  clans  at  enmity  with  the  Nhe  clan,  in  one 
of  whose  houses  we  were  then  staying.  This  idea  tickled  the 
erowd  around  the  fire  immensely,  but  the  philosopher  de- 
stroyed the  fun  by  assuring  us  that  the  bad  men  who  turned 
into  animals  were  all  eaten  by  wild  beasts.  So  after  all,  if 
the  joke  were  destroyed,  we  were  enabled  to  enjoy  our  mutton 
without  any  cannibal  suggestions. 

At  night  the  magic-lantern  was  a great  success.  The 
great  interest  taken  in  it  by  the  girl  with  the  coral  beads  has 
been  described  in  Chapter  I.  The  slides  shown  each  night 
were  a mixed  lot.  In  addition  to  a number  of  sacred  slides 
there  were  several  photos  and  views  of  places.  The  most 
popular  slide  of  all  was  one  of  my  wife’s  sister,  and  I was 


p 


226  MORE  YARNS  AND  THE  SOLITARY  GIRL 


very  amused  when  one  young  man  inquired,  through  IVIr  Long, 
whether  the  young  lady  was  open  to  an  offer,  or  whether  she 
had  already  been  given  in  marriage.  Intermarriage  with 
the  foreigner  was  evidently  in  the  air.  East  and  West  were 
not  to  be  separated  for  ever. 

After  the  lantern  show  was  over  we  gathered  around  the 
fire  again,  and  my  boy  did  a little  necessary  sewing  to  one  of 
his  garments.  When  he  had  finished  he  gave  the  needle  to 
one  of  the  slave  girls  standing  by.  At  this  there  was  a great 
outcry.  All  the  other  girls  insisted  oii  having  needles  also, 
otherwise,  they  said,  they  would  refuse  to  cook  the  breakfast 
for  us  in  the  morning.  So  six  more  needles  had  to  be  given 
away  to  satisfy  the  high  sense  of  justice  developed  in  these 
lively  damsels. 

The  next  morning  there  was  a change  in  the  weather. 
For  a while  there  was  an  outburst  of  lovely  sunshine,  which 
charmed  one  into  the  open,  where  the  view  down  the  valley 
to  the  Hsi-chi  river  was  very  delightful.  The  tops  of  the 
snow-covered  hills,  with  the  sun  shining  on  them,  looked  very 
beautiful  indeed.  And  there  was  a peacefulness  over  it  all 
that  seemed  in  strange  contrast  with  the  warlike  people  we 
were  among. 

In  the  sunshine  we  made  a closer  examination  of  the 
charms  over  the  door,  and  found  among  them  a wasp’s  nest 
and  a shin  bone.  I counted  also  that  there  were  ten  long 
spears  under  the  caves,  in  addition  to  twenty  guns  within  the 
house.  So  Vri-ha’s  home  may  be  considered  to  have  been 
well  supplied  with  arms. 

Right  down  in  the  valley  they  pointed  out  to  me  a remark- 
able pool  about  which  a legend  lingers.  Not  very  long  ago, 
in  this  pool,  there  resided  a huge  snake,  which  ate  up  all  the 


MORE  YARNS  .VND  THE  SOLITARY  GIRL  227 


people  passing  that  way.  One  day  a brother  and  sister  were 
going  by  the  pool,  when  the  monster  came  out  and  seized  and 
devoured  the  sister.  The  brother  managed  to  escape.  He 
then  immediately  swore  tliat  he  would  destroy  the  devourer 
of  his  sister.  He  gathered  together  a number  of  goatskins 
and  packed  them  with  dried  edelweiss,  in  the  centre  of  wliich 
he  put  sparks  of  fire.  The  stuffed  skins  were  then  tlirown 
into  the  water,  and  the  monster,  thinking  they  were  what 
they  appeared  to  be,  promptly  devoured  them.  By-and- 
by  the  fire  began  to  burn  and  the  snake  uTithed  in  agony. 
He  came  out  of  the  pool  and  wound  and  wound  himself  around 
some  trees  growing  near  by.  All  night  long,  while  the  monster 
was  twisting  about  in  agony,  mists  rose  up  from  the  valley. 
In  the  morning,  as  the  internal  fires  burst  the  sides  of  the  huge 
snake  and  so  destroyed  it,  the  mists  disappeared  and  sun- 
shine broke  out.  Tlie  trees  have  now  disappeared,  but  the 
stumps  are  still  there. 

Writing  of  edelweiss,  one  notices  tliat  all  over  the  district 
where  it  grows,  and  this  is  a very  wide  district,  the  natives 
gather  the  mature  flowers,  stalks  and  all,  and  when  they  are 
dried,  use  them  as  tinder  for  their  flints  and  steel,  which  were 
imiversal  not  long  ago  and  are  still  very  common.  One  often 
meets  a comitryman  with  his  flint  and  steel,  and  a small 
brass  box,  in  which  he  keeps  the  dried  edelweiss.  By  these 
he  can  get  a light  for  his  pipe  whenever  he  pleases ; and  the 
shepherds  on  the  hill-sides,  who  in  winter  light  fires  of  brush- 
wood to  keep  themselves  warm  while  the  sheep  are  grazing, 
readily  get  the  blaze  they  desire  without  spending  money  in 
buying  matches. 

Conversation  about  the  pool  and  the  snake  led  on  to  the 
subject  of  the  girl  with  the  coral  beads,  and  the  brother  and 


228  MORE  YARNS  AND  THE  SOLITARY  GIRL 


my  guide,  Mr  Long,  pressed  me  to  agree  to  the  kind  proposal 
of  the  chiefs,  who  were  anxious  to  keep  me  among  them. 
I told  Mr  Long  I would  be  pleased  to  have  the  girl  as  a 
daughter,  but  as  a wife — I already  had  one  wife,  and  that 
to  an  Englishman  was  final.  But  to  these  men  that  was  no 
argument  at  all.  Mr  Long  remembered  his  three  wives  and 
the  three  establishments,  and  he  saw  no  reason  why  I should 
not  be  as  successful  in  such  a venture  as  he  supposed  he  had 
been.  His  affairs  were  not  such  a problem  to  him  as  they 
were  to  us.  He  had  often  expressed  a desire  for  himself  and 
family  to  be  admitted  into  the  Christian  Church  by  baptism, 
and  there  were  many  points  in  his  favour.  His  second  wife 
had  showed  herself  a true  Christian  by  many  deeds  of  kind- 
ness and  charity,  and  her  children  were  in  our  schools.  Wliat 
were  we  to  do  ? To  baptize  them  meant  the  sanction  of 
polygamy.  To  insist  on  his  putting  away  two  of  his  wives 
meant  the  break-up  of  the  homes,  and  the  problem  as  to  what 
the  children  were  to  do  was  too  difficult  to  solve.  Theirs, 
at  any  rate,  was  no  sin,  and  they  were  not  responsible  for  the 
dilemma  in  which  we  were.  I remember  telling  the  story 
of  Mr  Long  and  the  problem  the  plurality  of  wives  gave  us  to 
several  audiences  in  England,  and  invited  suggestions  for  a 
solution.  The  neatest  solution  was  given  by  a clear-seeing 
little  boy,  who  had  noticed  what  his  mother  had  done  when 
there  were  superfluous  articles  about  the  home.  He  offered 
as  his  advice  : “ Send  two  of  the  wives  to  the  Jumble  Sale.” 
Mr  Long’s  problem  lias  not  yet  been  solved,  but  the 
missionary  did  not  follow  his  advice  and  create  another 
similar  problem  which  would  have  delighted  many  of  my  new 
hill  friends  but  which  would  as  surely  have  ruined  the  one 
who  now  tells  the  story. 


CILM’TEIl  XXII 


THE  FRIENDLY  WIDOW’s  HOME 

WHEN  at  last  we  got  away  from  the  home  of  the 
girl  with  the  coral  beads  Vri-ha  and  a number  of 
friends  escorted  us  some  distance  up  the  hill. 
He  begged  us  to  come  again  next  year,  promising  if  we  did 
so  to  take  us  all  over  Nosuland,  introducing  us  to  the 
different  tribes.  Perhaps  he  also  thought  that  by  that  time 
I might  be  more  ready  to  fall  in  with  his  plans.  I was  very 
glad  to  get  away  without  making  an  enemy  of  this  powerful 
man,  who  could  even  yet  carry  out  the  plans  of  the  Defender 
of  the  Yangtse  and  his  scoundrelly  accomplices  who  lived  at 
the  ferry  town.  Just  as  we  were  leaving  one  of  the  brothers 
brought  along  one  of  the  eagle-claw  winecups  and  gave  it 
to  me.  It  was  very  kind  of  him,  and  showed  that  we  did 
not  part  as  enemies. 

We  had  not  gone  very  far  before  a man  came  riding  after 
us  on  horseback,  telling  us  that  the  two  clans,  Lai-lai  and  Sha- 
ma,  were  preparing  in  earnest  for  an  attack  on  us  in  response 
to  the  plans  of  Mr  Tien.  We  were  determined  that  IVIr  Tien 
should  win  no  game  in  our  contest  if  we  could  possibly  help 
it.  He  undoubtedly  was  a keen  adversary  and  wished  very 
much  to  win,  but  a win  on  his  part  meant  so  much  loss  to  us 
that  we  determined  to  make  all  necessary  preparations  to 
checkmate  all  his  plans. 

After  the  man  on  horseback  had  gone  back  we  went  on, 
and  soon  eame  to  a pole  of  emsing,  where  there  had  been  in 
229 


230  THE  FRIENDLY  WIDOW’S  HOME 


the  past  a rare  cursing  of  the  enemy.  The  old  story  of 
Balaam  and  Balak  over  and  again ! The  very  fact  of  this 
cursing  often  prevents  an  enemy  from  coming  that  way,  for 
he  verily  believes  the  occult  forces  of  nature  are  in  waiting 
at  that  special  place  to  undo  him.  He  goes  around  a long 
way  to  avoid  what  he  considers  a real  danger.  Another 
use  is  made  of  the  pole  of  cursing.  In  a quarrel  between  two 
adversaries  one  will  kill  a dog  and  hang  its  carcass  on  the  pole, 
cursing  his  enemy  well  as  he  does  so.  It  does  not  at  first 
sight  seem  clear  what  share  in  the  quarrel  the  dog  can  take, 
nor  why  he  should  suffer  in  a trouble  that  he  has  had  nothing 
to  do  with.  Possibly  the  idea  is  akin  to  that  held  by  the 
Chinese,  who  have  a similar  custom.  WTien  there  is  a quarrel 
between  two  Chinese  men  or  women  which  cannot  easily  be 
settled  one  will  take  a dog  out  to  an  open  place,  preferably 
the  public  execution  ground,  and  then,  after  stating  the  justice 
of  his  case  and  cursing  well  his  antagonist,  he  -will  kill  the 
dog  and  send  its  spirit  into  the  next  world  to  ask  for  justice 
or  revenge  from  those  who  rule  in  the  dark  lands  of  Hades. 
It  is  really  an  appeal  to  Pluto,  and  is  supposed  to  set  the 
spirits  of  the  prison-house  in  motion  against  his  enemy. 
What  a strange  life  it  must  be,  living  amid  occult  influences 
and  demons  who  come  out  at  any  time  and  ^^Teck  the  best- 
laid  plans  or  destroy  all  the  happiness  of  one’s  home. 

There  is  still  one  more  use  of  the  pole  of  cursing.  Tlie 
hospitality  of  the  Nosu  farmers  is  often  abused  by  a lot  of 
loafers,  who  in  the  winter-time,  when  there  is  not  much  doing, 
make  up  parties  and  call  on  those  who  live  in  the  lower, 
warmer  levels.  In  this  way  they  spend  their  winter  months 
in  their  kind  of  a Riviera,  and  do  it  at  no  expense  to  them- 
selves. By  wandering  around  from  home  to  home,  they  pass 


THE  FRIENDLY  WIDOW’S  HOME  231 


the  time  away  and  enjoy  themselves.  When  these  Riviera 
holiday-makers  beeome  too  frequent,  some  of  the  lowland 
farmers  ereet  a pole  of  eursing  near  their  home,  and  get  a 
lot  of  wizards  to  eall  an  army  of  demons  together  to  infest 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  pole.  This  news  gets  abroad, 
and  effectually  stops  the  bands  from  straying  in  that  direc- 
tion. For  once  one  sees  some  use  in  ghosts  and  a haunted 
spot.  Some  others  of  us  who  get  pestered  by  unwelcome 
visitors  would  like  to  be  able  to  keep  a ghost  or  two  to  guard 
the  premises  and  the  quiet  of  the  home  from  certain  folk. 
One  wonders,  however,  what  plans  are  made  to  keep  the  ghosts 
from  interfering  with  the  members  of  the  family  that  desires 
their  help.  Possibly  the  ghosts  get  tame  like  household 
dogs,  which  in  the  case  of  the  Nosu  will  let  alone  all  whom 
they  know,  but  tear  in  pieces  all  strangers  they  can  get  at. 

We  were  going  now  to  be  the  guests,  for  a day  or  two,  of 
Ah-pooh’s  daughter,  the  widow  in  the  gorgeous  robes,  who 
had  been  so  friendly  and  had  taken  so  deep  an  interest  in  all 
we  did  when  w'e  were  at  See-tieh.  We  were  expecting  a w'arm 
welcome,  for  Ah-ku,  the  widow,  evidently  knew  how  to  be 
hospitable,  and  to  make  people  feel  at  home.  As  we  were 
walking  along  we  suddenly  turned  a comer,  and  there,  before 
us,  was  Loh-deh,  the  home  where  Ah-ku  and  her  retainers 
lived.  It  w’as  a remarkably  situated  place,  being  the  spur  of 
a hill,  very  difficult  of  access  on  three  sides,  and  approached 
on  the  fourth  by  a narrow  ridge.  A band  of  well-armed  men 
could  easily  have  defended  it  against  ten  times  their  number. 
Many  of  these  wealthy  Nosu,  both  in  their  own  land  and  in 
Chinese  territory,  have  chosen  their  dwellings  with  the  one 
idea  of  defence.  Ah-ku  lived  on  the  higher  part  of  the  ridge, 
in  a strongly  built  house,  with  a large  tower  adjoining.  She 


232  THE  FRIENDLY  WIDOW’S  HOME 


has  three  sons  and  five  daughters,  all  at  home  with  her. 
Here  again  our  visit  had  to  do  with  the  marrying  of  a 
daughter,  but  this  time  it  was  Mr  Long’s  turn  and  I was  left 
alone.  Ah-ku  was  very  anxious  to  get  one  of  her  daughters 
betrothed  to  one  of  Mr  Long’s  sons,  and  this  was  partly  why 
she  had  been  so  pressing  in  her  invitation  to  us.  It  is  an 
expensive  thing  in  Nosuland  to  marry  a daughter  of  a Black 
Blood.  Two  or  three  hundred  taels,  say  forty  pounds,  have 
to  be  given  for  the  bride,  and  Ah-ku  was  likely  to  make  a 
good  thing  of  her  daughter’s  matrimonial  ventures.  If  the 
parents  of  the  girl  are  generous,  they  will  often  send  their 
daughter  away  with  a well-stocked  trousseau,  equal  in  value 
to  a good  part  of  the  money  presented  to  them  by  the  bride- 
groom’s parents.  If,  however,  they  are  near,  and  bent  only 
on  making  a good  bargain  for  themselves,  they  will  send  the 
girl  away  with  bare  necessaries,  and  keep  the  silver  they  have 
received  for  themselves. 

Our  evening  meal  the  first  night  we  stayed  in  the  friendly 
widow’s  home  was  prepared  in  a different  way  from  the 
suppers  of  previous  days.  There  was,  however,  a cruelty 
about  the  preparation  which  would  disgust  most  Westerners. 
A very  fine  calf  was  led  into  the  courtyard,  facing  the  room 
where  we  were  staying,  and  seeing  they  were  about  to  kill  it 
for  us,  I begged  them  to  desist,  saying  that  a sheep  would  be 
ample,  and  would  satisfy  all  the  requirements  of  the  widow’s 
hospitality.  But  in  this  request  we  found  ourselves  up 
against  an  opposition  we  were  unable  to  overcome.  All  the 
retainers,  to  a man,  were  against  us.  They  were  bent  on  a 
good  feed  of  veal,  and  were  determined  not  to  allow  the  guests 
to  interfere  with  their  wishes. 

One  man  led  the  calf  by  a rope  and  another  of  the  slaves 


Nusu  (.;iKi.> 

As  they  ilo.iiot  wem-  shoes  tlieir  feet  haaleii,  and  when  the  skin  splits  it  is  ;i  common  practice  to  patcli  them  up  with  needle  and  cotton. 


THE  FRIENDLY  WIDOW’S  HOME  233 

st()(xl  ready  to  kill  it.  He  asked  for  an  axe,  and  one  of  the 
girls  went  off  into  an  inner  room  to  fetch  one.  Taking  the 
axe,  he  proceeded  to  beat  the  calf  to  death  with  the  handle 
of  the  axe.  First  there  was  a big  blow  delivered  over  the 
head,  and  then  there  were  blows  all  over  the  body.  It  is 
said  that  this  beating  gives  the  meat  a very  fine  flavour. 
It  was  a cniel  operation,  though  possibly  the  first  heavy 
blow  over  the  head  stunned  the  creature  and  deadened  the 
pain.  Sheep  are  sometimes  killed  in  the  same  w'ay. 

The  bearskin  I had  to  sit  on  around  the  fire  was  a very 
fine  one.  It  was  five  feet  long  from  neck  to  stump  of  tail, 
and  had  been  shot  some  years  ago  by  Ah-ku’s  husband,  when 
he  was  alive.  There  was  the  usual  presentation  of  wine, 
and  one  of  the  sons,  twelve  years  of  age,  took  his  basin  with 
the  rest,  at  which  the  retainers  and  others  laughed  heartily. 
It  was  not  that  they  objected  to  his  drinking  of  wine,  but 
to  his  taking  his  place  with  the  others  and  considering  himself 
a man  already. 

Usually  in  these  homes,  when  a light  is  needed,  some  sticks 
of  dried  young  bamboo  are  burnt.  The  stick  may  be  five 
feet  or  more  long,  and  one  end  is  thrust  into  the  rafters  or  a 
hole  in  the  wall.  The  other  end  slants  do^vnward,  and  gradu- 
ally burns  away.  By  constantly  picking  off  the  burnt  end, 
making  one’s  fingers  a pair  of  snuffers,  the  stick  gives  a fairly 
good  light.  I have  sometimes  met,  at  the  beginning  of  winter, 
a lot  of  people  from  a village,  going  off  to  the  hill  jimgle  to 
gather  their  winter  supply  of  bamboo  candles.  They  need 
to  be  w’ell  dried  before  they  will  burn  readily.  With  such 
lights  as  these  I have  known  the  aborigines  learn  to  read, 
and  make  quite  fair  progress  in  their  books  during  the  dark 
winter  evenings.  At  Ah-ku’s  home  lights  were  provided 


234  THE  FRIENDLY  WIDOW’S  HOME 


by  burning  pork  fat  in  shallow  dishes,  with  wicks  of  twisted 
cotton.  The  dishes  were  first  put  on  the  fire  to  melt  the 
lard,  and  after  that  the  lamps  burned  fairly  well. 

It  is  quite  interesting  to  notice  the  different  kinds  of  oil 
which  are  burnt  on  the  hills  of  Western  China.  In  Chinese 
homes,  on  the  gods’  altar,  which  always  faces  the  central 
door  of  the  chief  apartment,  the  shades  of  eve  see  the  light- 
ing up  of  a small  lamp  on  a high  stand  in  which  is  burnt 
mustard  oil.  This  is  supposed  to  be  the  purest  oil,  and  only 
this  is  burnt  in  front  of  the  gods.  Any  other  oil  is  supposed 
to  be  an  insult  to  the  deities  of  the  Chinese  Pantheon.  Years 
ago  this  was  the  most  expensive  oil,  and  was  reseiA'^ed,  as  a 
rule,  for  cooking  purposes  or  for  the  ancestral  spirits  and 
the  gods.  There  is  very  little  smoke  with  the  mustard  oil, 
and  the  flame  bums  clear.  For  ordinary  household  purposes 
the  oil  used  was  that  of  the  tung-tree,  the  tree  that  produces 
the  finest  varnish  in  the  world.  Formerly  this  oil  was  only 
half  the  price  of  the  mustard  oil,  but  the  large  foreign  demand 
for  the  varnish  has  almost  levelled  the  prices  of  the  two  oils. 
In  winter  the  varnish  oil  congeals,  and  then  it  looks  very 
much  like  lard.  There  is  a story  that  one  of  the  great  armies 
of  the  Taipings  was  marching  victoriously  through  the 
southern  districts  bordering  the  Yangtse,  when  they  came 
to  a village  near  to  Mr  Long’s  house.  Here  they  found  stored 
a number  of  tubs  of  the  varnish  oil.  Many  of  the  soldiers 
mistook  the  congealed  oil  for  pork  fat,  and  all  through  the 
camp  that  night  the  evening  meal  was  cooked  with  the 
welcome  fat.  If  there  is  anything  a Chinaman  likes,  it  is 
pork  and  pork  fat.  Now  you  cannot  eat  this  varni.sh  oil 
without  getting  very  much  upset,  and  that  was  the  result 
that  overtook  the  army  of  the  Taiping  rebels.  Very  much 


TTTE  FRIF.NDLY  WIDOW’S  ITOIVrF  235 


weakened,  the  amiy  eontinued  its  inareh,  and  eoming  later 
on  to  the  borders  of  Nosuland,  a large  band  of  the  hillmen, 
under  the  leadership  of  a famous  ehief,  lay  in  ambush  for 
them,  and  in  one  of  the  defiles,  praetieally  annihilated  this 
braneh  of  the  great  rebel  forees.  That  wandering  army  was 
never  again  mueh  trouble  to  the  Manehu  dynasty.  I do  not 
know  whether  the  Manehus  w’ere  grateful  to  the  Nosu  for 
this  signal  serviee.  And  I have  never  heard  that  the  famous 
chief  of  the  hillmen  was  rewarded.  Possibly  the  large  booty 
which  fell  to  the  share  of  the  aboriginals  was  considered  by 
them  sufficient  reward  for  all  they  had  done.  After  all,  it 
was  merely  another  sucecssful  raid  they  had  made,  and  it 
was  an  accident  that  they  had  rendered  a serviee  to  their 
hereditary  enemies. 

A number  of  other  oils  are  also  used  for  lighting  purposes. 
Nearly  all  of  these  are  now  giving  place  to  petroleum,  of 
whieh  large  quantities  are  sold  all  over  the  country.  In  the 
district  where  I am  living  this  foreign  oil  costs  about  tliree- 
pence  a pound,  double  the  price  of  the  native  oils.  As  we 
sat  around  the  fire  one  of  the  men  showed  me  how  to  put  up 
the  Nosu  poke  to  the  left  of  my  hair,  and  just  this  simple 
little  thing  pleased  them  very  much.  Just  what  the  origin 
of  the  head  horns  is  one  does  not  know.  In  Nosuland  it  is 
the  men  who  wear  the  horns.  South  of  the  Yangtse,  among 
another  tribe,  the  Flowery  Miao,  it  is  the  women  who  wear 
the  exalted  horn,  as  a sign  of  motherhood.  Very  occasion- 
ally a Miao  man  may  be  seen  with  the  horn,  but  this  is 
rare. 

After  a few  of  us  had  svmg  some  hymns  in  Nosu  and 
Chinese,  one  of  the  men  got  up  and  went  outside  that  he 
might  sing  to  us.  His  theme  was  an  improvised  one  and 


236  THE  FRIENDLY  WIDOW’S  HOIME 


was  about  the  guest  from  the  land  of  the  smiset  and  his 
friend  Mr  Long. 

A door  led  from  the  principal  room  of  the  house  into  the 
strong  tower  adjoining,  and  it  was  into  this  tower  that  Ah-ku 
and  her  daughters  retired  for  the  night.  The  rest  of  us 
settled  down  as  near  the  fire  as  we  could,  and  soon  forgot 
everything  in  the  sleep  that  is  common  to  all  the  world, 
Nosu  and  Chinese,  Oriental  and  Westerner. 


CHAFlEll  XXlll 


HILL  WARFARE  AND  STATE  ROBES 

During  the  night,  snow  fell  freely  on  all  the  hills, 
and  the  ground  was  covered  even  in  the  low-lying 
district  where  Ah-ku’s  house  is.  Very  early  two 
of  the  maids  were  busy  at  a stone  mill,  husking  some  rice 
for  breakfast.  The  stone  mill  in  the  home  is  almost  universal 
in  all  the  country  places,  and  husking  rice  and  buckwheat, 
grinding  maize  and  beans,  is  one  of  the  chief  duties  of  the 
women  and  girls.  Some  of  the  mills  are  very  heavy,  and 
need  a lot  of  strength  to  work  them.  Occasionally  they  arc 
turned  by  persons  walking  around  them  and  pushing  with 
their  chests  against  sticks  tied  to  the  sides  of  the  upper  stone. 
Here  and  there,  in  a large  village,  there  is  a mill  worked  by  a 
horse,  which  is  blindfolded.  He  continues  his  monotonous 
round  and  round  all  the  day  long.  Were  the  animal  not  blind- 
folded he  would  soon  be  too  giddy  to  keep  on  with  his  work. 
I saw  some  children  one  day  imitating  one  of  these  mill 
horses  by  catching  hold  of  a pillar  and  going  round  and  round 
until  they  were  too  giddy  to  keep  on  any  longer  standing  up. 
They  then  changed  hands  and  went  round  in  the  reverse 
direction,  un\vinding  themselves,  as  they  said.  Pi’esently, 
when  they  had  finished,  they  stood  upright  without  a trace 
of  giddiness. 

Wandering  about  Ah-ku’s  house  was  a tame  male  pheasant 
belonging  to  one  of  the  boys,  and  in  a cage  was  a dove.  One 
of  the  commonest  of  the  cage  bh’ds  in  West  China  is  the 

237 


238  HILL  WARFARE  AND  STATE  ROBES 


thrush.  Some  of  these  thrushes  which  one  sees  hung  up 
outside  a house  sing  as  if  they  would  biu’st  their  throats. 
Soldiers  are  very  fond  of  rearing  these  thrushes,  and  at  first 
one  was  pleased  to  see  these  men  enjoying  the  song  of  these 
magnificent  songsters.  It  was,  however,  a shock,  later  on, 
to  find  out  that  the  birds  were  not  kept  for  their  song  but 
for  their  fighting  powers.  Matches  are  arranged  between 
different  thrushes,  and  sometimes  large  sums  of  money  are 
laid  on  the  result.  If  you  see  a thrush  in  a cage  and  ask 
if  it  is  a fine  bird,  meaning,  of  course,  can  it  sing  well,  the 
answer  will  be  given,  not  at  all  in  reference  to  its  powers  of 
song,  but  solely  to  its  record  in  beating  other  thrushes  in 
fierce  fight.  There  is  another  little  bird,  about  the  size  of 
a large  tit,  which  is  the  most  reno\vned  of  the  bird  fighters. 
These  birds  are  really  vicious  fighters,  and  ^vill  frequently 
kill  one  another  in  their  arranged  combats.  Large  prices 
are  paid  for  one  of  these  little  birds  that  has  been  the  victor 
in  many  combats.  The  district  of  the  famous  salt  wells  m 
the  province  of  Szechuan  is  noted  for  its  number  of  fighting 
birds.  The  birds  are  taken  there  from  other  parts  of  West 
China,  as  aroimd  the  wells  there  is  not  a great  deal  of  trees 
to  attract  feathered  life. 

The  friendly  widow  got  uj)  late.  I have  a suspicion  that 
she  smoked  opium,  and  in  consequence  was  not  ready  to  rise 
at  the  same  time  as  normal  folk.  Years  ago  opium  was 
practically  unknown  in  Nosuland,  and  the  hillmen  despised 
the  Chinese  for  being  such  slaves  to  the  drug.  But  since 
the  anti-opium  campaign  has  been  so  vigorously  pushed  in 
West  China,  many  Chinese  have  gone  across  to  Nosuland 
and,  by  large  money  payments  to  the  chiefs,  have  received 
permission  to  cultivate  the  poppy.  When  the  poppy-juice 


HILL  WARFARE  AND  STATE  ROBES  239 


has  been  gathered  in  the  drug  is  either  openly  or  secretly 
taken  into  Chinese  territory,  where  it  commands  a high 
price.  The  prohts  of  this  illicit  trade  are  very  large.  When 
warned  by  some  friends  that  this  policy  of  permitting  the 
poppy  to  be  grown  in  Nosuland  would  cei’tainly  lead  to 
complications  with  the  Chinese  officials,  the  hillmen  replied 
that  in  such  a case  they  would  take  the  growers  of  the  drug 
and  hand  them  over  to  the  proper  authorities,  to  be  dealt 
with  as  they  should  deem  proper.  These  Nosu  chiefs  do 
not  imdcrstand  the  trend  of  affairs  in  China,  and  have  not 
seen  that  as  long  as  the  opium  is  grown  in  Nosuland  there 
can  be  no  permanent  stoppage  of  the  trade  in  the  drug  in  the 
parts  of  China  bordering  on  their  land.  And  they  do  not  see 
that  if  the  Chinese  Govermnent  is  determined  to  stop  the  use 
of  the  drug,  they  will  certainly  take  steps  to  prevent  the  Nosu 
chiefs  from  pursuing  the  policy  that  is  being  now  carried 
out.  Such  a determination  might  give  the  Chinese  officials 
the  excuse  to  make  a determined  effort  once  for  all  to  subdue 
Nosuland,  and  bring  it  under  the  same  control  as  the  districts 
which  in  Yunnan  and  Kweichow  used  to  be  entirely  under  the 
domination  of  the  different  Nosu  chiefs,  the  Earth  Eyes. 
There  are  many  Chinese  who  long  for  the  opening  up  of 
Nosuland  for  colonisation,  and  they  would  enthusiastically 
support  any  efforts  to  subdue  the  hillmen.  It  is  to  be  hoped 
that  the  hillmen  w ill  be  wise  in  time,  and  not,  for  the  sake  of 
a little  money,  sell  the  safety  of  their  hill  land. 

When  Ah-ku  came  out  of  her  room  in  the  stone  tower 
she  went  straight  to  the  fire,  and  had  a good  smoke  with  her 
five-feet-long  pipe  before  she  did  anything  else.  As  soon, 
however,  as  she  had  satisfied  her  gnawing  craving  for  the 
minor  drug,  and  was  so  restored  to  the  condition  of  her  usual 


240  HILL  WARFARE  AND  STATE  ROBES 


complacency,  she  set  to  work  planning  for  the  comfort  and 
amusement  of  her  guests.  She  gave  orders  that  her  servants 
and  retainers  were  to  dress  themselves  up  as  for  a fight,  and 
to  go  through  a mock  battle,  that  we  might  have  some  idea 
of  how  the  clans  set  to  work  when  they  are  on  the  warpath 
and  after  revenge  on  an  enemy.  While  the  train-bands  were 
preparing,  Mr  Long  and  I went  off  for  a stroll  down  towards 
the  lower  part  of  the  spur  of  the  hill,  where  dwelt  a number 
of  Ah-ku’s  retainers. 

By-and-by  the  small  band  of  fighters  came  down  the  hill 
towards  us.  One  was  bearing  a white  flag,  the  standard  of 
the  company.  Three  swordsmen,  elaborately  dressed,  ad- 
vanced as  skirmishers  with  the  intention  of  drawing  out  the 
enemy.  They  came  rimning  down,  dancing  about  all  over 
the  plaee  as  they  came.  They  seemed  as  if  they  enjoyed  the 
fun  immensely.  One  of  the  skirmishers  was  the  man  who 
had  so  barbarously  butchered  the  calf  for  our  last  night’s 
supper. 

When  the  whole  party  had  reaehed  a fairly  level  field, 
where  we  were  standing,  they  all  formed  up  ready  for  a charge 
on  their  imaginary  enemy.  Mr  Long  and  I were  supposed 
to  be  the  enemy,  and  they  charged  straight  at  us.  Long 
spears  were  levelled,  tridents  got  into  position,  and  the  two 
leaders  with  drawn  swords  led  the  attack.  All  the  while 
these  manoeuvres  were  going  on  they  kept  up  a constant 
shout  of  “Ah!  Ah!  Ah!”  When  the  real  charge  eame 
they  gave  some  tremendous  yells  and  rushed  forward.  At 
the  end  of  the  first  charge  they  retired,  with  an  eye  on  the 
enemy,  and  with  weapons  levelled  all  the  time.  They  then 
prepared  for  another  similar  rush.  They  told  me  that  in 
actual  fighting  they  pursued  such  tactics  as  these.  They 


Ilouslis  OK  Rkfuge  Built  on  the  Tots  ok  llioii  Hills 


HILL  WARFARE  AND  STATE  ROBES  241 


believe  in  the  short,  fierce  rushes,  accompanied  with  the 
blood-curdling  yells  to  strike  terror  into  the  hearts  of  the 
enemy.  Battles  arc  thus  partly  influenced  by  the  strongest 
pairs  of  lungs. 

There  is,  of  course,  a good  deal  of  plot  and  stratagem  used, 
or  these  people  would  never  have  held  their  own  so  long. 
Nearly  every  year  one  hears  of  skirmishes  between  Nosu 
raiders  and  the  Chinese.  The  Northerners  among  the  Nosu 
are  much  more  given  to  raiding  than  the  Southerners.  A 
few  years  ago  the  Chinese  officials  got  up  a punitive  expedi- 
tion to  teach  the  tribesmen  a few  things  they  seemed  to  be 
very  slow  in  learnmg.  The  soldiers  advanced,  as  Chinese 
troops  of  the  regular  army  usually  do,  with  plenty  of  muni- 
tions and  stores,  and  with  everything  necessary  to  provide 
the  meals  of  rice  and  vegetables,  without  whieh  Chinese 
soldiers  do  not  care  to  fight.  The  Nosu  retired  before  them. 
One  night  the  Chinese  soldiers  pitched  camp  in  a level 
surroimded  by  some  hills.  Towards  morning,  while  it  was 
still  dark,  a number  of  Nosu  drove  a flock  of  goats  in  the 
direction  of  the  camp  of  the  Chinese.  Between  the  horns 
of  the  goats  small  torches  were  tied.  Urged  on  by  the  driving 
Nosu,  the  goats  rushed  down  the  hills.  The  few  men  w'ho 
were  with  the  goats  yelled  out  all  the  Nosu  w'ar  yells  they 
could  think  of,  and  tried  to  give  the  impression  of  a great 
number  of  people  rushing  to  the  attack.  The  alarm  w^as 
given  in  the  camp.  The  soldiers  roused  themselves  up  and 
their  officers  led  them  out  to  repel  the  early  attaek. 

In  the  meantime,  by  ways  well  knowm  to  these  Nosu,  their 
main  body  of  fighters  had  made  a detour,  and  when  the 
Chinese  troops  were  facing  the  goats  and  torches  in  the 
darkness  these  hillmen  in  the  rear  fired  the  camp,  and  then, 
Q 


242  HILL  WARFARE  AND  STATE  ROBES 


in  the  early  twilight,  nearly  annihilated  the  regular  troops. 
It  was  but  a very  disordered  scanty  fragment  of  the  Chinese 
forces  that  managed  to  escape  and  turn  up  at  their  base. 
They  brought  with  them  a story  of  the  treacherous  night 
attack  in  which  they  had  been  badly  worsted.  Instead  of 
teaching  the  Nosu  a few  things  they  had  gone  to  a stern 
school  themselves,  where  the  teachers  carried  out  their 
lessons  in  a most  unexpected  way.  By  such  daring  ruses 
as  this,  skilfully  planned  and  magnificently  carried  out,  the 
hillmen  have  up  till  now  struck  terror  into  the  Chinese,  who 
do  not  relish  attacking  the  “ wildmen  of  the  hills.”  When 
one  heard  this  story  it  was  most  interestmg  to  speculate  on 
why  it  was  that  here,  among  the  hills  of  West  China,  the 
tactics  used  by  Hannibal  in  Campagnia  before  Fabius  should 
be  duplicated.  One  often  smiles  as  he  reads  a lot  of  rubbish 
about  the  impassable  gulf  between  East  and  West.  That 
gulf  does  not  exist.  The  saying  of  the  Chinese  sage,  that 
there  exists  “ one  principle  throughout  all  the  peoples  in 
the  world  ” is  far  nearer  the  truth  than  the  crude  placing 
of  the  East  and  West  in  absolutely  different  compartments. 
Those  who  go  down  deep  enough  know  that  East  and  West 
are  one.  In  this  connection  one  can  mention  a coincidence 
which  happened  a few  years  ago.  I mentioned  in  a former 
chapter  that  there  was  a time  later  on  when  I nearly  met 
my  death  at  the  hands  of  some  people  led  by  a Nosu  Black 
Blood.  In  the  minds  of  the  Chinese  there  was  a good  bit 
of  mystery  about  this  murderous  attack  on  one  who  had  been 
travelling  up  and  down  the  district  for  years,  unarmed  and 
unmolested.  The  choicest  explanation  was  one  that  was 
very  interesting.  It  was  said  that  1 had  wished  this  Nosu 
Black  Blood  to  give  me  a [)iece  of  land  to  build  a mission- 


HILL  WARFAUE  AND  STATE  ROBES  243 


house  on,  and  he  agreed.  He  aeceded  to  my  request  to  give 
as  mueh  land  as  I could  cover  with  the  hide  of  an  ox.  Gain- 
ing his  permission,  I was  reported  to  have  cut  the  hide  into 
the  thinnest  of  strips,  and  with  these  to  have  enclosed  an 
enormous  tract  of  land  which  far  exceeded  any  piece  the 
Nosu  had  intended  to  give  me.  \\'hcn  1 insisted  on  the  pro- 
mise being  kept  there  arose  a great  row,  and  a fight  in  which 
the  missionary  came  off  very  much  second  best.  To  have 
got  such  a story  as  this  in  West  China  was  worth  suffering 
some  inconvenience.  Is  there  some  subtle  connection 
between  Carthage  and  Nosu  ? 

Sometimes,  in  their  troubles  with  the  Cdiincse,  the  hillmen 
come  off  second  best.  Once,  in  the  days  when  modern  rifles 
and  cartridges  were  unknown  in  Nosuland,  a band  of  Chinese 
soldiers,  with  belts  of  cartridges  around  their  w^aists,  entered 
the  borders  of  the  hillmen’s  land.  Spies  were  sent  out  to  see 
what  kind  of  men  the  strangers  were.  The  cartridges  in  the 
belts  puzzled  them  at  first.  Then  they  formed  their  own 
conclusions,  and  came  back  reporting  that  the  strangers 
were  sellers  of  brass  mouthpieces  for  pipes. 

The  hillmen  expected  no  special  trouble  with  the  sellers 
of  brass  mouthpieces  for  pipes,  and  concluded  that  the 
guns  they  had  with  them  were  similar  to  those  carried  by 
most  travellers  and  traders  in  the  border  districts.  Arrange- 
ments were  made  for  a sudden  attack.  The  hillmen  rushed 
on  the  strangers,  expecting  to  overwhehn  them  easily.  Then 
they  got  the  surprise  of  their  lives.  The  soldiers  had  been 
waiting  for  this,  and  when  the  Nosu  got  right  out  within  easy 
range  the  brass  pieces  for  pipes  spoke  their  deadly  message 
and  such  of  the  Nosu  as  managed  to  escape  went  away 
wondering  as  they  had  never  wondered  before.  In  the 


244  HILL  WARFARE  AND  STATE  ROBES 


future  they  were  not  so  ready  to  rush  on  a suspicious- 
looking  foe. 

There  is  a good  bit  of  the  spectacular  and  even  comical 
about  the  clan  warfare  of  the  hilhnen.  When  they  are 
fighting  the  Cliinese  they  try  to  kill  as  many  as  they  can,  but 
among  themselves  it  is  usually  victory  with  a small  amoxmt 
of  bloodshed  they  strive  for.  Sometimes  the  rival  forces 
occupy  opposite  hills,  and  then  engage  in  a contest  of  reviling. 
Musical  pipes  are  played  at  each  other,  and  the  aim  of  the 
piper  is  to  annoy  the  enemy  by  his  superior  playing.  The 
affair  sometimes  takes  the  form  of  a dress  parade,  and  the  side 
that  makes  the  best  show  enjoys  its  superiority  over  the  other. 
Whenever,  in  a struggle,  a few  have  been  killed,  the  fight  is  usu- 
ally declared  off,  both  parties  retiring.  One  thinks  immediately 
of  those  mediaeval  wars  of  the  mercenary  armies,  whose  cam- 
paigns were  conducted  with  such  surprisingly  little  loss  of  life. 

Not  long  ago,  when  fighting  against  these  hilhnen,  the 
Chmese  pursued  their  old-fashioned  methods  of  warfare, 
offering  rewards  for  the  heads  of  the  enemies.  Several 
battles  were  fought,  in  which  a number  of  Chmese  were  killed. 
Many  soldiers  brought  in  heads  to  their  commanders,  claunmg 
the  offered  reward.  The  commanders  only  too  gladly  paid 
these  rewards  and  reported  their  success  to  headquarters. 
It  was  strange  that  the  number  of  Nosu  killed  or  captured 
was  far  less  than  the  number  of  heads  presented  for  rewards. 
By-and-by  the  truth  leaked  out.  The  Chmese  soldiers  had 
been  decapitating  their  own  wounded  comrades  that  they 
might  claim  the  reward  offered  by  the  officials  leading  the 
campaign.  No  wonder  that  as  yet  the  Nosu  hillmen 
do  not  feel  very  much  afraid  of  the  Chinese  troops.  A rude 
awakening,  however,  awaits  them  later  on. 


IIILI.  WARFARE  AND  STATE  ROBES  245 


After  we  had  enjoyed  all  the  excitements  of  the  sham  fight 
and  mimic  hill  warfare  we  went  home  again  and  turned  our 
attention  to  something  much  more  interesting.  Ah-ku 
asked  me  if  I had  ever  seen  a lady’s  full  state  dress.  I 
immediately  took  the  hint  and  said  I should  be  delightal  if 
she  would  give  us  that  privilege.  She  then  proposed  that 
she  should  dress  up  one  of  her  daughters  in  full  Nosu  fashion. 
It  was  professedly  for  my  benefit,  but  probably  it  was  the 
favour  of  Mr  Long’s  eye  that  was  sought . The  daughter  at 
first  demurred  a little,  but  that  was  overcome.  The  ladies 
retired  into  the  tower  rooms,  while  we  waited  outside  in  the 
main  room.  After  a while  the  young  lady  appeared  in  all 
her  gorgeous  attire.  I wish  I could  do  justice  to  the  young 
lady.  A lady’s  pen  should  describe  a lady’s  dress.  There 
was,  of  course,  the  usual  large  head-dress,  whieh  gives  a stately 
appearance  to  all  these  fine  Nosu  women.  Over  the  head- 
dress there  was  a red  band,  vdth  nine  golden  ornaments  and 
three  golden  phoenixes  on  it.  From  the  band  hung  four  strips 
of  coloured  silk,  each  having  eleven  golden  ornaments  on  it. 
MTien  the  head-dress  was  fully  in  shape  these  four  strips 
were  looped  on  either  side  of  the  face,  setting  off  the  young 
gu’l’s  pretty  eountenance  very  finely.  Over  the  back  of  the 
hair  hung  a band  of  black  cloth,  covered  with  silver  work. 
At  the  end  of  it  w'as  an  ornamented  double  dragon  and  sixty- 
one  thin  hangings  of  silver.  Long  coral  ear-rings  hung  down 
from  each  ear,  and  these  were  tied  in  a double  loop  under 
the  chin. 

The  long  satin  jacket  the  yoimg  girl  wore  was  beautifully 
embroidered,  and  the  whole  appearance  of  the  girl  was  very 
striking.  The  smoke  of  the  wood  fires  had  made  the  eyes  a 
little  sore.  Other\vise  the  hill  lassie  was  really  a taking  sight. 


246  HILL  WARFARE  AND  STATE  ROBES 

and  she  deserved  the  best  husband  that  could  be  found  for 
her.  She  was  nearly  as  tall  as  her  mother,  but  not  quite  so 
good-looking.  The  widow  mother  had  managed  to  keep  her 
looks  in  a manner  remarkable  for  a West  China  woman. 
Most  of  such  women  look  old  at  thirty,  and  very  old  at  that 
age  when  British  matrons  look  most  handsome  and  stately. 
I hope  Mr  Long  was  duly  impressed  with  the  beautiful  figure 
and  handsome  dress  of  Ah-tsu,  the  widow’s  pretty  daughter. 
One  fancies  that  if  his  son  had  been  there  instead  of  the  much- 
married  father  there  might  have  been  no  difficulty  in  the 
handsome  widow  getting  a suitable  husband  for  her  daughter. 

During  the  considerable  interval  while  we  were  waiting 
for  the  young  lady  to  complete  her  elaborate  toilet  we  went 
into  one  of  the  slave’s  houses  near  by  to  see  a wizard  at  work. 
Entering  a small  room,  where  all  were  seated  round  a wood 
fire,  we  found  our  old  friend,  the  See-tieh  spearman,  come  to 
assist  two  people  from  another  clan  who  were  in  great  trouble 
about  something.  The  wizard  had  a big  narrow  drum  hung 
on  an  irregular  frame.  He  held  the  drum  in  position  by  a 
stick  and  string  at  the  back,  and  beat  it  by  another  stick 
which  had  some  goatskin  bound  just  where  the  stick  would 
strike  the  drum.  Soon  after  we  came  in  he  began  shouting 
and  beating  the  drum,  and  kept  this  up  until  his  particular 
demon  seized  him.  Then  he  shook  his  head  in  a frenzied 
manner,  tossed  off  his  head-dress,  moved  his  face  up  and 
down,  and  appeared  as  if  he  were  really  possessed.  But  I 
could  not  help  thinking  the  man  was  simulating  this  posses- 
sion. Every  now  and  again  he  seemed  to  look  at  me  as  if 
wishing  to  notice  what  impression  on  the  visitor  the  coming 
of  the  demon  made.  He  seemed  to  want  to  know  what  was 
my  verdict  on  his  great  performance.  During  the  frenzy  the 


TULL  WATTFARE  AND  STATE  ROBES  247 


demon  conveyed  his  message  to  the  medium,  and  l)y-and-by 
when  the  man  came  to  again,  he  passed  this  on  to  the  people 
in  trouble.  The  man  went  off  twice  like  this  when  we  were 
present.  lie  was  quite  willing  that  I should  examine  the 
drum,  and  did  not  for  a moment  suspect  that  the  message  I 
longed  most  of  all  to  bring  to  the  people  of  his  clan,  as  well  as 
to  all  others,  was  a message  that  spelt  the  end  of  his  seances. 
I stated  just  now  that  I could  not  help  thinking  that  the  man 
was  simulating  his  frenzy.  Possibly  I may  have  thought 
wrongly.  I have  met  a large  number  of  mediums  in  West 
China,  both  aboriginal  and  Chinese.  The  aboriginal  mediums 
seem  the  most  popular  and  the  most  powerful.  They  are 
supposed  by  the  people  who  patronise  them  to  be  the  greatest 
experts  in  communing  with  the  land  of  shades,  where  demons 
rule.  Some  of  them  have  assured  me  that  the  possession  is 
not  simulated,  that  it  represents  a very  real  experience  to 
them,  and  that  after  a while  their  demon  is  so  powerful  in 
its  control  over  them  that  they  can  only  get  peace  by  having 
periodical  seances,  when  the  spirit  can  enter  them  and  exert 
its  influences. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 


IN  THE  GRIP  OF  THE  DEMON 

IN  every  Nosu  elan  and  eonneeted  with  every  Earth 
Eye’s  household  there  are  a number  of  wizards.  The 
Nosu  name  for  these  is  Pee-mo.  It  is  very  difficult  to 
describe  the  exact  position  held  by  these  men.  They  are 
something  like  the  priests  of  the  clan  in  that  they  stand 
between  the  people  and  the  spirits  of  the  unseen  world.  Yet 
they  can  hardly  be  termed  priests  in  the  real  sense  of  the  word, 
for  they  do  not  profess  to  commune  with  the  Heavenly 
Ruler  who  is  the  most  powerful  of  all.  They  do  not  bring 
the  sorrows  and  sins  of  a people  to  one  who  is  the  arbiter 
of  everybody’s  fate.  They  are  rather  a kind  of  borderland 
police  who  can  arrest  and  send  into  banishment  the  spirits 
that  dwell  somewhere,  where  earth  and  Hades  mingle. 
These  spirits  can  do  a lot  of  harm  to  the  dwellers  in  this 
world,  and  possess  something  like  extra-territorial  rights,  in 
that  no  ordinary  inhabitant  of  this  world  can  rule  or  punish 
them.  However  much  they  may  annoy  and  harm  people, 
they  are  outside  of  their  control,  and  can  only  be  driven  away 
by  a class  of  men  who  claim  special  powers  to  deal  with  such. 
If  one  were  not  likely  to  be  misunderstood  one  might  say  that 
these  Pee-mo  act  as  a kind  of  diplomatic  representative  of 
the  coimtry  of  the  spirits  of  darkness,  and  only  through  them 
can  any  of  these  spirits  who  commit  crimes  be  dealt  with. 
This  illustration  may  seem  a bizarre  one  to  many,  and  yet, 
if  you  judge  of  these  Pee-mo  by  their  own  claims,  they  would 

248 


Nosh  Akmouk  madk  ok  Onhikic 


A Long  Nosu  Gun  Captured  in  a Raid  by  Chinese  Soldiers 


IN  THE  GRIP  OF  THE  DEMON  249 


certainly  accept  such  an  illustration  as  corresponding  closely 
to  their  actual  rank. 

In  a certain  sense  these  men  are  also  a kind  of  medicine 
men  in  that  they  deal  with  diseases  of  all  classes  and  claim 
to  cure  by  going  to  the  real  cause  of  the  disease.  The 
majority  of  them  have  nothing  to  do  with  drugs,  and  when 
one  looks  at  the  advertisement  pages  of  Western  newspapers 
and  reads  all  the  puffing  accounts  of  patent  drugs  which  one 
knows  very  well  cannot  possibly  do  always  all  that  they  claim 
to  do,  one  wonders  whether  after  all  these  Pee-mo  are  not  on 
as  high  a level,  or  higher,  than  the  many  men  who  make  their 
money  by  the  sale  of  drugs  which  may  have  quick  action  but 
which  certainly  do  not  move  the  cause  of  many  of  the  diseases 
which  so  distress  mankind.  In  giving  a wide  berth  to  drugs 
and  herbs,  and  professing  to  remove  the  initial  cause  of 
disease,  these  men  are  aiming  at  something  which  most 
modem  medical  men  are  aiming  at.  If  you  put  germ  for 
demon,  then  there  is  much  that  is  similar  in  both  Nosu  Pee-mo 
and  the  modern  physician.  In  the  disregard  and  almost 
contempt  for  drugs  whieh  this  class  of  men  display  they 
have  strikingly  anticipated  the  trend  of  the  modem  medical 
profession.  But  in  his  aseribing  all  disease  to  the  influence 
of  evil  spirits  who  are  often  under  the  control  of  men  like 
himself,  he  surely  is  very  old-world  in  his  ignorance. 

According  to  these  men  there  is  the  grip  of  the  demon 
everywhere,  and  people  are  afraid  to  do  many  things  lest  their 
actions  should  provoke  an  outburst  from  some  of  these  evil 
inhabitants  of  both  worlds. 

An  incident  w’e  w^ere  witness  of  after  watching  the  seance  in 
the  slave’s  home  near  Ah-ku’s  tower  convinced  one  that  the 
wizard  believed  what  he  preached.  He  was  sincere  in  his 


1 


250  IN  THE  GRIP  OF  THE  DEMON 

theory  of  the  demons.  Knowing  that  however  he  may  act 
in  cases  brought  to  him  his  aetions  are  bound  to  provoke 
criticism,  and  even  anger  from  some  people,  he  thinks  it  very 
likely  that  these  people  will  retaliate  by  invoking  the  god  of 
curses  to  visit  him  and  bring  on  him  the  evils  this  special 
god  is  supposed  to  control.  The  medimn  had,  therefore,  in- 
vited a confrere  to  come  and  avert  from  him  the  anticipated 
calamity.  When  we  went  to  match  this  second  ceremony 
the  brother  wizard  was  seated  on  a coarse  mat,  with  cloak  and 
sun  hat  on.  A few  yards  in  front  of  him  was  a fire  of  bracken 
burning  away.  The  smoke  of  the  bracken  was  supposed  to 
convey  the  messages  of  the  wizards  to  their  special  god. 
Between  the  first  and  second  wizard  were  stuck  three 
sharpened  sticks  to  represent  spears,  and  nearer  still  were 
eleven  small  branehes  of  the  white-w^ax  tree.  There  was 
also  a little  basin  of  wine  as  an  offering,  and  close  by  a small 
basket  of  chips.  The  wizard  was  holding  a fowl  in  his  hand 
and  a sharpened  stick.  The  two  men  started  their  chanting, 
and  every  now  and  again,  as  they  came  to  certain  places  in 
the  well-known  chant  of  cmsing,  the  onlookers  would  join 
in,  as  a kind  of  chorus,  by  shouting  in  Nosu  : “ Clear  out,  clear 
out.”  As  they  shouted  the  leader  threw  a few  chips  over  the 
branches  into  the  braeken  fire.  Presently,  as  the  chanting 
neared  the  end,  the  fowl  was  killed,  its  blood  was  sprinkled  on 
the  branches  and  it  was  thrown  right  away.  Needless  to 
say,  it  was  picked  up  and  eaten  later  on.  The  usual  grass 
effigy  was  made  and  taken  away  to  some  cross-road  where 
people  frequently  pass.  In  this  way  the  god  of  cursing  is 
turned  away,  and  the  wizard  who  has  helped  others  in  their 
trouble  himself  breathes  freely.  I noticed  that  while  the 
chanting  was  going  on  the  names  of  all  the  clans  and  families 


IN  THE  GRIP  OF  THE  DEMON  251 


aroimd  were  mentionetl,  that  curses  IVoni  any  quarter 
whatever  might  be  counteracted  and  sent  off  at  a safe 
tangent. 

One  wishes  that  among  these  brave  but  superstitious  hill- 
men  some  modern  medical  men  would  set  to  work  to  relieve 
the  suffering  that  abounds,  and  lead  these  people  out  from 
the  distressing  fear  of  the  all-powerful  demon.  There  is  a 
great  and  hajjpy  work  waiting  for  some  medical  men  among 
the  hills  of  the  independent  Nosu. 

It  is  strange  that  the  belief  in  spiritualism  is  so  universal 
all  over  China,  whether  among  the  Chinese  proper  or  among 
the  aboriginals.  One  often  hears  about  the  three  religions 
of  China,  but  the  Chinese  themselves  sometimes  speak  of  the 
four  religions,  and  the  fourth  is  the  most  powerful  of  all. 
If  Confucianism,  Buddhism  and  Taoism  are  religions,  then 
spiritualism  is  also  one  of  the  religions  of  these  people  living 
in  China,  and  it  holds  tremendous  sway.  It  is  practically 
all-powerful  in  Nosuland  ; it  rules  among  the  Nosu  south  of 
the  Yangtse  who  have  submitted  to  the  rule  of  the  mandarins  ; 
it  is  very  prevalent  among  the  other  tribes,  and  almost  every 
Chinese  family  that  is  not  Christian  believes  in  it. 

An  attempt  has  been  made,  after  the  Revolution,  to  put 
down  the  trade  of  the  medium,  but  it  has  not  succeeded. 
Outside  of  every  town  and  near  to  every  big  village  are  houses 
where  the  mediums  are  at  the  disposal  of  everybody  who  is 
prepared  to  pay  for  their  services.  They  are  willing  to  visit 
the  other  world  and  find  out  what  influence  in  the  world  of 
shades  is  working  against  the  fortunes  of  the  inquirer.  A 
Delphic  oracle  is  thus  brought  to  every  door,  and  there  are 
pythonesses  galore  at  a figure  within  the  reach  of  every 
pocket.  I have  watched  these  mediums  at  their  work  many 


252  IN  THE  GRIP  OF  THE  DEMON 


a time,  and  have  been  eonvinced  that  in  many  cases  the 
possession  is  false  and  made  to  order.  But  do  what  you  ^vill, 
you  cannot  be  smre  that  it  is  always  so,  in  fact  you  feel  sure 
that  there  is  some  real  phenomenon  though  you  are  not  so 
sure  that  you  can  explain  it.  In  the  many  churches  which  I, 
with  others,  minister  to,  there  are  several  men  who  used  to  be 
wizards,  and  who  only  obtained  release  from  the  control  and 
fear  of  the  demon  after  they  had  submitted  to  Christ.  Some 
of  these  men  are  eager  to  get  all  other  wizards  to  break  away 
from  their  seance  trade,  but  they  cannot  always  succeed.  In 
some  cases,  where  persuasion  has  not  succeeded,  they  have 
tried  to  thwart  what  they  consider  the  evil  influence  of  these 
seances  by  getting  as  near  to  them  as  possible  and  continuing 
in  prayer  to  God.  Sometimes  while  these  Christians  are  in 
another  room  praying  the  wizard  entirely  fails  to  “ call 
spirits  from  the  vasty  deep.”  Why  should  that  be  ? If 
the  possession  is  entirely  simulated  such  an  outcome  to  a 
seance  could  not  be.  The  man  would  be  able  to  simulate 
in  spite  of  the  prayers  of  the  Christians  in  another 
room. 

At  Chaotung,  some  years  ago,  the  daughter  of  the  chief 
magistrate  was  taken  very  ill  and  queer.  No  native  doctor 
understood  her  disease.  At  last  a medium  suggested  that  it 
was  a spirit  from  the  other  world  who  wished  to  control  the 
young  lady,  and  suggested  that  a stance  should  be  held,  with 
the  lady  as  principal.  The  medium’s  advice  was  carried  out, 
regular  seances  were  held,  and  the  girl  lost  all  those  symptoms 
which  were  so  distressing  to  herself  and  to  h'  r friends. 

There  is  one  feature  about  all  these  stances  which  is  a 
mystery  to  me.  In  all  the  visits  paid  to  the  land  of  the 
shades  the  mediums  describe  the  places  they  visit,  and  the 


IN  THE  GRIP  OF  THE  DEMON 


253 


spirits  they  meet,  in  the  terms  of  every  day  life.  I mean  by 
that  that  they  speak  of  them  as  they  are  ordinarily  spoken  of 
by  the  inquirers  at  the  oracle.  To  the  Chinaman  Hades  is 
just  another  world,  a replica  of  China,  a subterrestrial  Celestial 
Empire.  In  the  spirit  world  there  are  the  same  officials, 
the  same  yamens,  the  same  underlings,  the  same  customs, 
even  the  same  marriages  as  one  finds  in  this  world.  Wars, 
rumours  of  wars,  insurrections,  battles,  defeats,  victory,  all 
exist  in  the  world  these  mediums  visit  in  their  trances. 
One  wonders  what  would  become  of  this  replica  of  the 
Manchu  regime  which  existed  in  the  land  of  Pluto  when  the 
Revolution  of  1911  turned  out  a success. 

In  The  People's  Paper,  a vernacular  daily  published  at 
Yunnan  Fu,  the  issue  of  28th  March  1912  had  a most  re- 
markable journalistic  article  under  the  heading  “ How  Hades 
adopted  a Republic.”  It  described  how  at  the  end  of  the 
last  year  the  kitchen  god  had  gone  up  to  heaven  and  reported 
the  establishment  of  the  United  Republic  in  China  and  all 
its  advantages.  The  gods  met  together  and  asked  the 
Pearly  Emperor,  the  highest  god  in  the  Chinese  Pantheon, 
to  start  a republic.  He  was  at  first  unwilling,  but  fearing  the 
result  of  refusal  might  be  the  starting  of  an  anarchist  society, 
and  that  the  fate  of  the  Manchu  Emperor  might  be  his  also, 
he  abdicated  and  retired  to  the  Western  Heavens,  promising 
no  more  to  interfere  in  the  government  of  the  spirit  w'orld. 
The  gods  then  elected  Lao-tsz  as  president,  who  formed  a 
Cabinet,  the  composition  of  which  is  most  remarkable.  In 
addition  to  the  Cabinet  there  was  formed  a Board  of  Consulta- 
tion, a kind  of  advisory  board  to  help  guide  the  policy  of  the 
new  government.  This  board  was  composed  of  two  Buddhas, 
the  Goddess  of  Mercy,  the  head  of  the  Taoist  sect,  and  Jesus. 


254  IN  THE  GRIP  OF  THE  DEMON 

This  is  but  one  instance  of  how  Hades  is  considered  to  be 
merely  a replica  of  this  present  world. 

The  wizards  of  the  Miao  tribes,  when  they  visit  the  abodes 
of  the  dead,  speak  of  the  inhabitants  there  in  terms  of  the 
faith  of  the  people  of  their  tribe.  They  believe  that  the  final 
fate  of  their  people  is  to  turn  into  fowls  in  the  barnyard  of 
the  Miao  Pluto,  who,  when  guests  come  to  him,  kills  fowls  for 
their  entertainment.  Those  Miao  mediums  never  describe 
Hades  in  Chinese  terms,  and  I suppose  no  English  medium 
in  her  senses  would  think  of  picturing  a spirit  world  such  as 
the  Miao  or  Nosu  mediums  see.  What  is  the  explanation 
of  this  phenomenon  ? Does  it  mean  that  these  mediums  of 
Eastern  or  Western  lands  have  pierced  the  wall  that  separates 
or  seems  to  separate  this  world  from  the  next,  if  one  may  use 
such  a phrase,  or  does  it  not  rather  mean  that  all  these 
mediums,  whether  those  of  the  Nosu  hills,  who  are  afraid  of 
the  god  of  cursing,  or  the  Chinese,  who  are  afraid  of  the 
Manchu  or  Republican  demon  officials  and  their  underlings 
of  Hades,  or  the  English  mediums  of  the  Julia  Bureau,  or  even 
of  the  Psychical  Research  Society,  are  dealing  with  some 
forces  which  are  purely  substantive,  and  are  of  no  value 
wliatever  in  solving  the  great,  jealously  guarded  secret  which 
deals  so  closely  with  the  life  that  now  is  and  with  that  which 
is  eternal.  My  opinion  is,  and  I give  it  sincerely  and 
reverently,  after  acquaintance  with  many  mediums,  that  the 
evidence  for  the  continuity  of  life,  for  “ eternal  life,”  rests 
entirely  in  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  the  Way,  the  Truth  and  the 
Life.  The  time  is  coming  when  this  evidence  and  this  alone 
will  satisfy  the  whole  world. 

The  first  Protestant  missionary  to  reside  in  the  city  of 
Chaotung  died  a short  time  after  he  settled  there.  To  test 


IN  THE  GRIP  OF  THE  DEMON 


255 


the  mediums  and  to  prove  to  the  people  tliat  they  could  not  do 
all  they  claimed  to  do,  I offered  a large  reward  to  any  who 
would  call  uj}  the  spirit  of  the  dead  Englishman  so  that  he, 
tlirough  the  medium,  could  hold  conversation  with  me. 
This  was  merely  what  they  every  day  claimed  to  do  for 
inquirers  of  their  own  people.  No  one  ever  claimed  the 
reward.  Possibly  the  native  mediums  were  nervous  of  the 
foreigner,  or  maybe  they  thought  that  I should  never  pay 
them  even  if  they  fulfilled  my  conditions. 

In  connection  with  the  wizards  of  Nosuland  there  is  one  thing 
that  is  of  far  more  interest  than  all  their  seances  or  conununion 
w ith  demons.  They  are  the  possessors  of  the  written  language 
and  literature  of  Nosuland.  This  is  a field  that  has  been 
almost  unexplored,  and  that  possibly  holds  secrets  of  immense 
interest  and  value  to  the  students  of  history  and  philology. 


CHAPTER  XXV 


THE  WRITTEN  LANGUAGE  AND  MANUSCRIPTS 

The  various  tribes  of  the  Nosu  raee  are  probably 
unique  among  Chinese  aboriginals  in  that  they 
possess  a written  language.  Other  tribes  have 
stated  that  they  possess  books  of  their  own,  but  all  my 
efforts  to  obtain  eopies  have  failed. 

When  the  late  Mr  Colborne  Baber,  in  his  journey  through 
West  China,  found  out  that  the  Nosu  had  a written  language 
of  their  own,  and  obtained  speeimens  of  their  books,  it  was 
naturally  looked  on  as  an  important  diseovery.  In  the  years 
that  have  elapsed  since  that  discovery  not  a great  deal  has 
been  done  to  follow  it  up.  The  literature  of  these  hill-people 
is  still  practically  unexplored.  It  is  possible  that  in  these 
manuscript  books  there  may  be  hidden  some  important  facts 
which  will  cast  light  on  early  Chinese  history. 

A stranger  who  is  not  closely  acquainted  with  Chinese 
writing  might  at  first  sight  easily  mistake  a Nosu  book  for 
a Chinese,  and  yet  they  are  absolutely  dissimilar.  I have 
found  no  characters  in  Nosu  books  like  those  in  Chmese, 
except  the  munerals,  and  even  these  are  not  quite  the 
same.  A glance  at  the  list  of  Nosu  words  side  by  side  with 
the  Chinese  equivalents  will  at  once  show  that  the  two  arc 
totally  different. 

Whence  came  those  Nosu  ideographs  ? They  could  not 
have  been  adapted  from  the  (’hinesc,  as  some  have  errone- 
ously supposed.  If  such  were  the  case,  then  we  are  in  presence 

256 


THE  VVUITTEN  LANGUAGE 


257 


of  a people  who  must  rank  on  a higher  level  intellectually 
than  the  Chinese,  for  the  Nosu  ideographs  are  much  simpler 
than  the  Chinese.  1 do  not  think  that  is  a position  anyone 
who  has  examined  the  question  would  eare  to  take  up.  It 
is  true  that  many  of  the  people  living  around  China  have 
adopted  the  Chinese  wTitten  charaeters,  and  this  fact  has 
helped  in  making  intercourse  between  different  peoples 
feasible.  On  an  ocean  steamer  you  may  see  students  from 
Japan,  Korea  and  South  China,  who  do  not  know  a word 
of  each  other’s  spoken  language,  able  to  understand  each 
other  by  ^vriting  Chinese  ideographs.  To  these  each  man 
gives  his  own  sound,  which  is  not  known  by  the  others,  but 
the  idea  conveyed  by  the  wi’itten  character  is  the  same  to 
each.  I have  been  in  a shop  in  French  Tongking  where  there 
were  several  Annamese  gentlemen  present.  They  knew  no 
English  and  1 could  not  speak  Annamese.  But  we  managed 
to  get  on  together  by  ANTiting,  with  pencil,  Chinese  characters 
on  a rough  slip  of  paper.  When  we  started  reading  what  we 
had  written  we  were  at  sea  again,  for  each  read  his  wTiting 
in  his  owTi  way.  As  long  as  we  confined  ourselves  to  ^vriting 
and  looking  we  got  on  all  right.  It  was  a kind  of  deaf-and- 
dumb  language  to  each  of  us,  and  yet  each  could  read  it  to 
himself  but  not  to  the  other.  As  there  is  a regular  way  of 
writing  the  different  strokes  in  the  Chinese  characters,  those 
who  use  them  in  conversation  often  just  trace  their  imagin- 
ary outline  on  the  palm  of  the  left  hand,  when  as  a rule  the 
looker-on  can  read  the  invisible  but  very  real  characters. 
VNTiat  an  interesting  state  of  affairs — invisible  writing  for 
temporarily  deaf-and-dumb  people.  The  wonders  of  the 
Chinese  Avritten  language  have  not  yet  been  fully  exhausted 
by  Westerners,  who  make  a kind  of  fetish  of  their  romanised 


R 


258 


THE  WRITTEN  LANGUAGE 


method  of  writing.  There  are  some  visionaries  who  imagine 
that  before  long  China  will  throw  over  its  method  of  writing 
and  adopt  the  romanised  method.  Such  a change  is  not 
likely  to  be  made  in  this  generation  or  the  next. 

While  the  peoples  aromid  China  have  adopted  Chinese 
written  characters,  the  Nosu  have  kept  to  their  own.  There 
must  have  been,  in  ages  gone  by,  a larger  number  of  people 
who  could  read.  Now  the  wizards  are  practically  the  only 
people  who  have  a knowledge  of  the  written  language. 

There  is  no  such  thing  as  an  alphabet  in  Nosu.  The  same 
principle  that  rules  in  Chinese  rules  also  in  Nosu.  Each 
ideograph  represents  an  idea.  The  language  is  monosyllabic. 
As  mentioned  before,  vowel  sounds  end  the  words. 

Nearly  all  the  books  are  in  manuscript,  and  are  handed 
down  from  father  to  son.  The  wizards  who  possess  the  key 
to  these  books  are  not  very  eager  to  pass  on  their  knowledge 
to  others,  and  I have  not  heard  that  others  are  very  anxious 
to  share  this  knowledge.  I have  been  told  that  there  are 
one  or  two  Earth  Eyes  who  are  able  to  read  Nosu,  but  I 
have  no  personal  acquaintance  with  them.  One  Earth  Eye, 
who  was  very  friendly,  had  wooden  blocks  cut  for  the  printing 
of  a Nosu  book,  and  then  printed  off  quite  a number,  which 
he  gave  away  to  any  who  wished  for  a copy.  On  the  back 
of  the  cover  was  the  legend  : 

A gift  of  a book  to  the  princely  man. 

With  the  hope  that  the  princely  man  will  live  it  out, 

If  the  princely  man  does  not  read  the  book, 

Will  he  kindly  pass  it  on  to  someone  else. 

The  Earth  Eye  was  evidently  imitating  the  Chinese,  who 
look  upon  the  printing  and  giving  away  of  books  as  a very 
potent  way  of  storing  up  merit  in  the  bank  of  the  other  world. 


AND  MANUSCRIPTS 


250 


Most  of  the  Nosu  manuscripts  are  kept  by  the  Pee-mo  in 
their  houses,  not  far  from  the  wood  fires.  The  smoke  rapidly 
turns  the  colour  of  the  bamboo  paper,  and  soon  gives  it  the 
appearance  of  antiquity.  A comparatively  recent  book 
thus  looks  old,  and  readily  deceives  one  who  gets  hold 
of  it. 

Similar  to  the  Giinese,  the  Nosu  writing  is  from  top  to 
bottom  of  page.  It  is  vertical  and  not  horizontal.  Unlike 
the  Chuiese,  however,  it  begins  at  the  left  of  the  page  and 
book. 

Here  are  a few  Nosu  words  with  Chinese  equivalents : 


Ilia,  tongue 

3^ 

Loo,  dragon 

-^L 

VrV 

Veeay,  pig 

4^' 

fr 

La,  tiger 

3tro 

Du,  clouds 

y 

n ^ 

Nieh,  clouds 

'f 

Ilm,  girl 

3 

Pa,  father 

t — i' 

Mu,  mother,  female 

Q 

Soo,  person,  class 

G) 

Chae,  egg 

© 

Nioh,  monkey 

m. 

Ma,  bamboo 

No,  neh,  or  nieh, 
black 

s. 

Q 

Tsu,  man 

(2) 

Loh,  stone 

(g> 

Lah,  thunder 

Hm,  heaven 

IIu,  iron 

3 

Ntu,  to  beat 

Uj 

Shi,  gold 

Lo,  hand 

Nearly  all  the  books  I have  obtained  have  been  books 
dealing  with  diseases  and  demon  possession.  These  books 
form  the  wizard’s  stock  in  trade  for  the  casting  out  of  these 


260 


THE  WRITTEN  LANGUAGE 


demons,  and  so  curing  disease.  A page  from  one  of  these 
books  I have  roughly  translated  as  follows  : — 

Tsi-mu  Ku-tu-tu  ! 

Call  your  tiger  to  ride  swiftly  from  the  Sunset, 

Call  your  tiger  to  attack  my  enemy. 

Call  your  tiger  to  injure  him. 

Call  your  tiger  to  prevent  his  conception, 

Call  your  tiger  to  destroy  his  whole  offspring  ! 

There  goes  the  tiger  to  capture  ! 

Look  ! The  tiger  ! 

Don’t  stray  aside  into  the  dense  forests  ! 

Don’t  turn  and  wander  up  the  steep  precipices  ! 

Look  ! The  tiger  has  got  him  ! 

Ah  ! The  tiger’s  tongue  reaches  my  enemy  ! 

Another  manuscript  deals  wholly  with  the  demon  of 
leprosy,  and  is  a call  to  the  dragon  god,  the  special  god  of  the 
Pee-mo  and  his  allies,  to  drive  away  the  evil  spirit  which  is 
the  cause  of  the  terrible  disease.  The  chant  describes  how 
the  animals  on  the  hill-sides  help  in  the  search  for  the  demon, 
which  changes  into  various  shapes  to  escape  capture,  but 
all  in  vain.  The  powerful  allies  of  the  wizard  and  the  potency 
of  his  cursing  at  last  lead  to  the  capture  of  the  spirit  villain, 
who  is  forthwith  cast  into  oblivion  with  a final 

You  snake  leper  demon  ! You  frog  leper  demon  ! Out ! Out ! 

A few  of  us,  assisted  by  the  Society  of  Lepers  for  India  and 
the  East,  are  trying  to  do  something  to  help  the  many  lepers 
that  exist  and  suffer  among  these  western  hills  of  China.  I 
am  afraid  the  wizards’  curses  and  their  whole  army  of  dragon 
and  allies  will  not  do  much  to  bring  success  to  our  campaign. 

After  getting  (juite  a number  of  the  books  which  form  the 
wizard’s  stock  in  trade,  I at  last  got  hold  of  one  that  dwelt 
with  the  origins  of  things.  I have  been  told  that  there  are 


AND  ^L^NUSCRIPTS 


261 


other  books  similar  to  this,  but  I have  only  succeeded  in 
getting  one  such  book.  The  first  five  pages  of  the  manu- 
seript  copy  I have  deal  with  the  origin  of  the  most  powerful 
spirit,  sometimes  spoken  of  as  “The  Heavenly  Father  and 
Mother.”  Then  there  are  four  pages  dealing  with  the 
beginnings  of  rain,  snow,  the  sun  and  the  moon.  This  is 
succeeded  by  four  pages  on  the  origin  of  animals,  and  lastly 
a few  pages  on  the  beginnings  of  man.  The  manuscript 
states  that  the  first  snow  that  fell  on  the  earth  was  of  three 
colours,  red,  yellow  and  white.  By-and-by  this  coloured 
snow  turned  into  twelve  men.  Just  why  the  number  was 
fixed  at  tw'elve,  I do  not  know,  though  possibly  there  is  some 
connection  with  the  twelve  months  of  the  year,  months,  of 
course,  being  moons.  Three  of  these  men  started  ploughing 
the  land,  but,  like  many  other  farmers  of  modem  times,  they 
soon  found  themselves  up  against  great  difficulties.  The 
troubles  of  these  early  agriculturists  rose  from  the  fact  that 
God  had,  for  some  reason  or  other,  determinal  to  send  a flood 
on  the  earth.  The  three  ploughmen  noticed  that  each  day 
some  young  men  and  maidens  from  another  world  drove 
flocks  of  wild  boars  to  root  up  the  land  that  was  being  tilled. 

After  the  boars  had  rooted  up  the  earth  the  young  people 
came  along  with  brooms  and  swept  everything  clean.  In 
this  w^ay  it  w'as  impossible  for  a seed  to  sprout  or  grow.  As 
this  kind  of  thing  continued,  the  three  brothers  resolved  to 
try'  and  put  a stop  to  the  work  of  the  destroyers.  The  eldest 
brother  proposed  that  they  should  catch  and  kill  all  the 
yoimg  people  from  the  other  world.  The  third  brother 
proposed  that  they  should  cut  them  all  in  pieces.  The 
second  brother  was  more  humane,  and  said  : “ Let  us  invite 
them  all  in  and  give  them  a hearty  meal.  Do  not  let  us  kill 


262 


THE  WRITTEN  LANGUAGE 


them.”  The  proposals  of  the  three  brothers  became  in  some 
way  known  to  the  sweepers  of  the  boar-rooted-up  soil,  and 
they  determined  to  reward  the  second  brother  for  his  kind- 
ness of  heart.  They  sent  word  to  him  that  God  did  not  wish 
the  soil  tilled,  as  He  was  going  to  send  a flood  on  the  earth. 

As  he  had  been  kind  to  them,  they  would  tell  him 
how  to  save  himself  when  the  day  of  the  great  flood  came. 
Their  advice  was  to  take  wood  and  make  a large  cupboard  in 
which  he  could  sleep  at  night.  The  second  brother  followed 
this  advice,  and  those  w'ho  gave  it  returned  home.  Twelve 
days  after  this  the  flood  came.  The  second  brother  floated 
out  on  his  cupboard  boat  and  saved  the  lives  of  a lot  of 
different  creatures.  Among  others,  he  saved  the  snake,  the 
bee  and  the  crow.  The  first  brother,  meanwhile,  had  got 
into  an  iron  box  and  was  drowned.  When  the  floods  abated, 
“ Number  Two  ” was  left  alone.  By-and-by  he  got  tired 
of  this  loneliness,  and  wished  for  a wife.  The  only  place 
where  there  were  any  women  to  be  had  was  where  God  was 
living.  The  lonely  man  would  have  liked  to  have  spoken 
for  one  of  the  divine  daughters,  but  he  had  no  one  to  present 
his  request  for  him.  This  old-world  tale  is  written  from 
an  Oriental  standpoint,  and  therefore  all  marriages  need  to 
be  arranged  by  some  go-between.  The  snake,  seeing  the 
difficulty  the  man  was  in,  offered  to  speak  for  him,  in  return 
for  the  kindness  the  man  had  showed  him  at  the  time 
of  the  flood.  But  the  snake  was  also  confronted  with  a 
difficulty,  for  he  was  unable  to  travel  as  far  as  the  house 
where  the  father  of  the  daughter  lived.  The  man  overcame 
this  difficulty  by  carrying  the  snake  around  his  neck,  and  in 
this  way  they  came  to  God’s  house.  During  the  night  the 
snake  set  to  work  to  help  his  friend,  and  did  so  by  biting 


AND  MANUSCRIPTS 


2G3 


one  of  the  daughters  of  the  household.  The  young  girl  was 
in  great  trouble,  and  there  was  no  one  to  cure  her.  The  man 
in  quest  of  a wife  then  came  forward,  and  offered  his  services 
on  condition,  if  successful,  that  he  might  have  the  daughter 
as  his  wife.  The  distressed  father  agreed.  The  girl  was 
cured  of  her  snake-bite,  and  the  man  wished  for  the  completion 
of  the  bargain,  but  in  this,  as  in  many  similar  cases,  the 
father  refused  to  keep  his  word.  The  man  went  away  dis- 
appointed. Later  on  he  resolved  to  try  again,  and  had  as 
companion  on  this  visit  the  bee.  The  bee  imitated  the  snake, 
and  stung  the  girl  in  her  face.  There  was  the  same  proposal 
by  the  man,  on  the  same  terms,  which  were  accepted.  This 
time,  after  the  cure,  the  man  was  allowed  to  take  the  girl 
away  with  him  as  his  wife.  The  father  resolved  to  do  his 
best  for  the  young  couple,  and  on  their  departure  gave  them 
supplies  of  all  the  seeds  they  needed.  There  was,  however, 
one  seed  he  did  not  give  them,  and  that  was  the  hemp  seed. 
This  old-world  Nosu  Eve  got  out  of  this  difficulty  by  going 
back  home  and  stealing  the  seed  which  had  been  withheld 
from  them.  One  wishes  he  knew  the  origin  of  such  an 
interesting  story.  The  adventurous  wife  stealing  the  for- 
bidden seed  makes  a picture  very  much  like  another  story 
with  which  we  are  more  familiar.  And  yet  some  people 
persist  in  saying  that  the  East  and  the  West  are  for  ever 
separated.  When  it  comes  to  questions  concerning  Eve 
and  her  adventures,  ancient  or  modern,  there  is  not  much 
difference,  but  a great  family  likeness. 

Whether  there  will  be  any  permanent  value  in  these  Nosu 
manuscripts  one  cannot  yet  say.  It  would  be  a great  dis- 
covery if  some  of  these  were  found  to  refer  to  early  Chinese 
history,  or  to  the  times  when  the  Chinese  first  came  in 


264 


THE  WRITTEN  LANGUAGE 


contact  with  these  Nosu  people.  At  that  time  the  Nosu  must 
have  spread  over  a very  vast  area,  and  were  probably  the 
jiredecessors  of  the  Chinese  in  much  of  what  is  now  the 
Republic  of  China.  The  accoimts  of  Chinese  early  history 
are  practically  found  only  in  Chinese  reeords.  If  some  in- 
dependent account  could  be  discovered,  which  would  throw 
light,  from  a non-Chinese  standpoint,  on  some  of  the  prob- 
lems of  the  early  history  of  this  great  country,  it  would 
indeed  be  welcome  to  all  students  of  history. 

The  number  of  foreigners  who  have  studied  any  branch 
of  the  Nosu  language  is  very  small  indeed.  The  Roman 
Catholics  have  had  a flourishing  mission  work  among  the  Gni, 
a branch  of  the  Nosu  raee,  and  Pere  Vial,  who  has  for  many 
years  been  the  head  of  this  mission,  has  given  to  the  w'orld 
some  aeeoimt  of  this  people  and  their  language.  There 
is,  however,  one  serious  critieism  to  make  of  P^re  Vial’s 
writings.  He  persists  in  calling  these  people  Lolo.  This  is, 
indeed,  the  name  by  w'hich  this  raee  is  knowm  to  most 
Westerners  and  Chinese.  One  ought  ahvays  to  be  a bit 
suspicious  of  adopting  any  name  for  an  aboriginal  tribe 
which  has  been  given  to  it  by  the  Chinese,  who  are  ahvays 
so  contemptuous  of  these  peoples.  As  far  as  I have 
noticed,  you  can  scarcely  insult  a member  of  the  Nosu  race 
more  than  by  calling  him  a Lolo.  Tliese  people  deeply 
resent  this  tenn.  At  the  use  of  it  some  of  these  aboriginals 
will  flare  up  and  get  into  a terrible  rage.  I have  seen  some 
men  at  such  times  almost  or  quite  angry  enough  to  commit 
murder.  The  ideographs  w'hieh  the  CTiinese  use  for  the 
word  Lolo  are  usually  written  with  a “dog  radical  at  the 
side,”  thus  in  a coneise  way  expressing  to  all  wlio  can  read 
the  sujircme  contempt  in  W'hich  the  Nosu  are  held.  The 


I 


Buildings  Roofed  with  the  Bark  of  the  Pine-tree,  which  last  Ten 
OR  MORE  Years 


AND  MANUSCRIPTS 


265 


Chinese  word  for  the  tiny  basket  in  which  the  Nosu  ancestral 
spirits  arc  supposed  to  reside  is  also  pronounced  Lolo,  and 
often,  when  the  word  is  usal,  the  hillinen  imagine  that  their 
forefathers  are  being  insulted.  In  view  of  their  deep  aver- 
sion to  this  term,  it  is  courteous  for  those  who  also  have 
suffered  abuse  from  the  Chinese  to  drop  the  use  of  it.  The 
name  which  the  people  prefer  should  rather  be  adopted. 
No-su  or  Ne-su  may  not  be  such  a euphonious  term  as  Lolo, 
but  it  conveys  no  sting,  and  is  not  an  insult  to  a brave  race, 
who  have  kept  up  their  end  of  the  wicket  for  so  many 
centuries. 

The  first  character  of  the  word  No-su  is  at  times  pro- 
nounced No,  Ne  or  even  Nieh,  and  its  meaning  is  Black. 
The  second  character  means  race,  people,  class,  etc.  In 
some  connections  the  word  No  means  north,  and  here 
one  may  have  the  solution  of  the  origin  of  the  term  which 
the  tribes  so  resent.  The  north  wind  is  the  wind  that 
comes  from  the  No.  It  is  possible  that  these  aboriginals 
had  their  home,  in  the  very  early  days,  in  the  same  district 
where  the  north  wind  came  from,  the  No  district.  As  the 
tribes  were  pressed  farther  and  farther  south,  they  would 
speak  of  themselves  as  a people  coming  from  the  No 
direction,  the  No  race,  the  No-su,  the  No-no  people. 

Among  the  different  dialects  of  China  there  exists  a kind 
of  Oriental  Grimm’s  law,  which  turns  certain  consonants  in 
one  part  into  different  consonants  in  other  parts.  N and  L 
are  two  consonants  which  are  thus  exchanged.  F and  H are 
others.  The  province  of  Hu-nan,  for  instance,  in  Szechuan, 
is  spoken  of  as  the  province  of  Fu-lan.  In  the  same  way  it 
may  have  happened  that  the  aboriginals  from  the  north, 
the  No-no  men,  became,  to  the  people  of  Szechuan,  by  the 


266 


THE  WRITTEN  LANGUAGE 


application  of  the  above  law,  the  Lo-lo  men.  If  so,  in  the 
original  meaning  of  the  word  there  was  no  slur.  This  is  the 
most  plausible  explanation  I can  think  of  in  reference  to  the 
origin  of  the  term  so  bitterly  resented  by  many  of  my  friends 
and  their  fellow-tribesmen.  I therefore  do  all  I can  to  dis- 
courage the  use  of  the  word,  knowing  how  it  feels  to  be  called 
by  an  opprobrious  term,  in  whieh  the  elever  Giinese  has  hidden 
the  supreme  contempt  in  which  he  holds  men  who  are  not  of 
his  exalted  race. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 


BACK  INTO  THE  DANGER  ZONE 

ONE  evening  while  we  were  staying  at  the  friendly 
widow’s  home  the  weather  cleared  up  beautifully, 
and  the  moon  shone  out  in  all  its  full  glory.  This 
tempted  everybody  away  from  the  dark  room  and  the  fire, 
and  we  all  adjourned  to  the  courtyard,  from  which  could  be 
seen  the  snow  hills,  with  their  white  sides  shining  in  the  clear 
moonlight. 

The  young  people  started  a wrestling  match,  Nosuland  v. 
Yunnan.  Each  person  going  to  take  part  in  the  contest 
tied  a girdle  around  his  w'aist.  The  antagonists,  bending 
down,  caught  hold  of  each  other’s  girdles  and  manoeuvred 
until  one  or  other  got  a fair  throw  on  to  the  back.  The  men 
who  had  come  across  from  Yunnan  were  no  match  for  the 
Nosu.  The  fun  was  very  exciting,  and  the  young  men 
entered  into  it  heartily.  The  Yunnan  men  did  not  take 
their  beating  very  gracefully.  Then  hopping  and  skipping 
were  tried,  and,  being  raw  at  these,  the  Nosu  w'ere  nowhere. 
Then  one  of  the  Yunnan  men,  wishing  to  recover  the  ashes, 
proposed  a trial  at  fist-striking.  Each  held  out  a fist,  and 
in  turns  the  pair  of  combatants  struck  each  other’s  fist. 
Here  the  Yunnan  man  held  his  own,  and  at  last,  before  his 
heavy  blows,  the  Nosu  champion  wdneed  and  interposed  his 
hide  arm-protector.  This  was  held  equivalent  to  defeat, 
and  now  it  was  the  hillmen  who  were  not  pleased  at  the  turn 
of  affairs.  I think  they  would  like  to  have  gone  a step 
267 


268  BACK  INTO  THE  DANGER  ZONE 


farther,  for  they  are  always  on  the  look  out  for  a fight.  In 
fact,  the  whole  race  of  Nosu  in  this  independent  land  seem 
a race  of  born  fighters.  The  sight  of  a gun  will  set  them  all 
in  a quiver  of  excitement.  They  closely  examine  it,  pass  it 
from  one  to  another,  and  then  want  to  fire  it  off.  They  do 
not  see  why  you  should  possess  fine  guns  if  you  do  not  intend 
to  use  them.  In  that  they  are  like  many  present-day 
Europeans. 

While  the  young  men  were  engaged  at  their  sports,  the 
stars  shone  down  on  us  beautifully.  The  house  faced  the 
west.  Jupiter  was  in  his  full  glory,  and  away  to  the  north 
the  Great  Bear  was  faithfully  keeping  watch  over  this  land 
where  bears  are  so  conunon.  By-and-by  the  sports  came 
to  an  end,  and  we  went  into  the  house  again  and  to  bed. 
We  were  due  to  rise  early  the  next  morn,  as  we  had  an 
important  stage  to  do  and  we  wanted  to  start  before  it 
became  late. 

We  rose  up  at  cock-crow,  long  before  it  was  daylight.  We 
were  all  excited,  for  this  day  we  were  going  down  to  the 
Yangtse  again,  and  were  to  run  the  risk  of  a struggle  with 
the  Lai-lai  and  Sha-ma  clans.  When  we  first  got  up  the 
skies  were  still  clear,  and  Venus  in  the  east  was  shining  very 
brilliantly.  This  brightness,  however,  did  not  last  long,  and 
before  we  started  on  our  journey,  mist  reigned  supreme  on  all 
sides.  One  of  the  women  brought  in  a supply  of  large  buck- 
wheat cakes  for  our  use  on  the  road.  These  cakes  were  one 
and  a half  inches  thick,  and  I got  half  of  one  as  my  share  for 
the  day.  The  cakes  of  some  of  the  others  were  more  than 
three  inches  thick.  There  was  in  these  cakes  a real  solid 
breakfast  and  dinner  for  us  all. 

After  the  sharing  out  of  the  cakes  we  said  good-bye  to  all 


BACK  INTO  THE  DANGER  ZONE 


2G9 


the  folk  ill  the  friendly  widow’s  home.  We  had  been  very 
kindly  treated,  and  were  not  likely  to  forget  Ah-ku’s  house  on 
the  spur  of  the  hill  in  Nosuland.  We  now  startal  on  our 
long  journey  down  to  the  Yangtse.  The  first  part  of  the 
road  was  siniiily  abominable.  It  was  right  by  the  side  of  a 
steep  ravine.  I was  wearing  a pair  of  hemp  sandals  I had 
purchased  for  two  and  a half  pounds  of  salt,  and  these,  being 
new,  were  rather  slippery  on  the  rough  road.  I hardly  knew 
how  1 managed  to  get  down  that  bit  of  horrible  road  in 
safety.  It  was  decidedly  the  worst  bit  of  road  we  had 
travelled  over  in  Nosuland.  Undoubtedly  you  have  to  go 
to  a good  bit  of  trouble  to  get  into  that  fascinating  land,  and 
when  you  are  in  it  it  is  not  easy  to  get  out  again.  In  fear 
and  trembling  I followed  the  others  down  the  ravine  road, 
my  way  made  no  easier  by  the  fact  that  my  new  Nosu  sandals, 
of  which  I was  so  proud,  were  gradually  rubbing  their  way 
through  the  skin  of  my  feet.  As  we  were  painfully  going 
down,  a place  was  pointed  out  to  us  where,  in  1900,  an 
enormous  bear  was  shot.  It  fell  over  the  cliff,  but  was 
recovered  by  the  hunters.  The  fat  alone  from  its  body 
made  a good  load  for  four  men  to  carry  with  them.  This  is 
said  to  be  the  largest  bear  ever  bagged  in  the  district.  En- 
tangling creepers  stretching  across  the  road,  hindered  our 
way  considerably.  Sometimes  we  had  to  climb  around 
cliffs,  or  up  the  single  trunk  of  a tree.  To  men  who  have 
travelled  in  the  Alps,  or  among  the  virgin  forests  of  Brazil, 
these  descriptions  may  seem  tame  and  laboured.  It  must 
be  remembered  that  we  were  only  prepared  for  ordinary 
West  China  roads,  and  to  us  who  have  been  used  to  such 
roads  these  rough  cliff  roads  of  Nosuland  were  very  trying 
and  difficult.  We  came  to  the  conclusion  that  there  were  no 


270  BACK  INTO  THE  DANGER  ZONE 


roads  here  for  soldiers  with  their  equipment  to  travel  over. 
Of  course,  if  the  Chinese  Government  were  ever  in  real 
earnest,  they  could  gradually  make  roads,  as  they  have  done 
in  their  great  expeditions  to  Tibet.  There  is  nothing  in  the 
way  of  country  which  wdll  stop  Chinese  when  they  are 
determined  to  succeed.  The  men  that  have,  at  one  time  or 
another,  overrun  and  conquered  the  whole  of  Asia,  have  yet 
some  sxu’prises  in  store  for  the  rest  of  the  world. 

When  we  had  reached  the  bottom  of  this  ravine  road  we 
came  to  another  ravine,  in  which,  at  a considerable  depth, 
there  roared  a great  torrent.  Where  this  second  ravine 
was  narrowest,  four  or  five  thick  sticks  had  been  tied  to- 
gether, and  over  these  we  had  to  go.  Several  went  down 
on  their  hands  and  knees,  and  so  got  across.  It  was  again 
interesting  to  note  that  men  who  will  ride  fearlessly  almost 
anywhere  are  very  afraid  to  trust  their  own  legs  in  dangerous 
places.  When  you  have  got  to  know  what  wonderful  animals 
these  little  West  China  horses  are,  you  get  to  trust  them  in 
most  dangerous  places.  I have  seen  men  riding  down  risky 
places,  with  reins  thrown  over  the  neck  of  the  horse,  and  the 
latest  newspaper  from  home  in  their  hands.  A slip  and  they 
were  gone,  never  to  ride  over  these  hills  again,  and  yet  so 
confident  has  the  rider  been  of  his  little  horse  that  he  reads 
the  reports  of  the  stirring  debates  on  Home  Rule  without  a 
thought  to  the  sudden  death  just  a few  inches  away.  1 
have  been  one  of  two  such  men  when  we  have  argued  over 
the  old  ground  with  no  result  except  intense  interest  on 
either  side.  And  all  the  time  the  little  horses  were  carefully 
and  surely  working  their  way  to  the  foot  of  the  hill  where 
there  is  safety  and  a wider  road. 

The  raging  waters,  under  the  very  rustie  bridge  we  crossed 


BACK  INTO  THE  DANGER  ZONE  271 


over,  looked  very  grand.  On  the  other  side  there  were  some 
rocks  which  were  very  difficult  to  negotiate.  There  was 
scarcely  a trace  of  a road  anywhere,  and  had  there  not  been 
trusty  guides  with  us,  who  knew  the  way  well,  we  should  have 
been  unable  to  find  our  way.  Our  men  were  in  a lively  mood 
as  we  travelled  along.  They  were  hooting  and  shouting  and 
giving  their  war-whoops  as  if  they  scented  a fray  not  far  off. 
The  people  living  on  the  other  side  of  the  valley  really  thought 
we  were  a band  of  raiders  on  the  warpath,  and  some  actually 
ran  away  from  the  anticipated  danger. 

We  crossetl  now  into  the  lands  of  another  clan,  the  Ah-liu, 
and  stayed  a short  time  at  a village  where  the  chief’s  residence 
was.  A number  of  people  came  out  to  see  us  and  to  ask  a 
lot  of  questions.  Some  asked  if  Mr  Long  and  the  others 
followed  the  foreigner  because  of  fear,  or  from  some  other 
reason.  Mr  Long  replied  that  he  followed  the  foreigner 
because  he  was  such  a wonderful  man  that  he  could  go 
anywhere,  even  to  heaven.  Our  men  were  in  the  mood  for 
getting  fun  out  of  anything. 

We  were  now  approaching  the  danger  zone,  concerning 
which  w’c  had  received  warning  on  two  or  three  occasions. 
In  view  of  the  possible  kidnapping,  a number  of  armed  men 
had  joined  us.  Others  again,  with  loads  of  mountain  herbs, 
which  they  were  going  to  sell  to  Chinese  from  south  of  the 
river,  came  into  our  party  that  they  might  take  advantage 
of  our  escort.  Shouts  from  a distant  hill  told  us  that  our 
See-tieh  friends  were  not  failing  us.  Vri-ntee  and  his  brother 
were  bringing  up  their  forces,  determined  to  see  their  adopted 
brother,  Nhe-jah-jah,  safely  through  the  dangerous  district 
into  Chinese  territory.  By  the  time  we  reached  the  top  of  the 
second  hill  we  were  quite  a formidable  band,  and  there  were 


272  BACK  INTO  THE  DANGER  ZONE 


with  us  some  were  redoubtable  fighters.  Our  old  friend,  the 
spearman,  was  among  the  number,  determined  that  if  there 
was  any  fun  he  would  have  his  share  of  it. 

On  the  top  of  the  hill  we  came  to  what  seemed  at  that  time 
a very  curious  sight,  a Chinese  grave.  Such  a sight,  all  too 
common  in  China  proper,  seemed  all  out  of  place  in  Nosuland, 
and  I stopped  to  take  note  of  it.  The  inscription  on  the 
stone  showed  that  it  was  the  grave  of  a woman,  a Mrs  Hwang, 
with  maiden  name  of  Liu.  The  stone  had  been  erected  in 
the  reign  of  the  Emperor  Tao-kwang.  One  would  like  to 
have  known  the  history  of  this  solitary  woman,  buried  away 
from  her  kin,  in  the  land  of  strangers.  Possibly  her  husband 
had  been  one  of  a band  of  miners,  who  had  risked  much  to 
extract  the  so-called  riches  from  the  hills  of  Nosuland.  A 
little  farther  on  we  came  to  a splendid  spring,  where  are  the 
remains  of  a building  which  was  probably  a temple  erected 
by  the  miners  to  the  dragon  god.  All  traces  of  any  mining 
had  long  passed  away  and  the  adventurous  men  were  nowhere 
in  evidence. 

Our  large  party  rested  by  the  side  of  the  spring  and  had 
an  alfresco  breakfast.  The  hill  was  covered  with  very  long 
grass,  and  a great  band  of  men  could  have  been  hidden 
there  without  its  being  known.  The  spot  has  an  evil 
reputation  for  robberies. 

There  were  in  our  band  four  horses  which  had  been  brought 
across  by  the  See-tieh  men,  and  there  were  some  scores  of 
armed  men.  Guns  and  spears  were  laid  aside  for  a while, 
and  breakfast  commenced.  Sheepskin  bags  were  opened. 
Brass  basins,  wooden  spoons  and  bamboo  cho])-sticks  were 
brought  out.  Oatmeal  was  served  all  round,  and  the  cool 
water  helped  it  down  splendidly.  There  was  a bit  of  romance 


BACK  INTO  THE  DANGER  ZONE 


273 


about  this  part  of  the  meal,  for  we  were  taking  the  rations 
usually  given  to  fighting  men  when  out  for  a raid.  After  this 
first  course  was  finished  we  started  on  the  huge  cakes  of 
buckwheat.  Those  were  helpal  down  with  slices  of  cold  pork 
the  friendly  widow  had  provided  us  with.  The  cakes  and  pork 
were  cut  up  on  the  stones  with  the  warriors’  swords.  'The  cakes 
and  pork  were  very  savoury,  and  the  sword -cutting  made 
them  all  the  more  tasty  and  decidedly  out  of  the  common. 
Some  time  after  this  I was  travelling  in  a district  where  the 
officials  thought  there  might  be  danger  to  a foreigner,  and  so 
they  sent  a couple  of  soldiers  with  me.  They  were  armed 
with  modern  rifles,  and  in  their  belts  carried  daggers  as  well. 
Both  of  the  soldiers  were  able  to  cook,  and  one  night,  when  a 
couple  of  fine  fowls  were  killed  for  our  supper,  the  soldiers 
asked  if  they  might  prepare  the  evening  meal  for  us.  They 
set  to  work  in  earnest,  cleaned  the  fowls  well,  and  then  cut 
them  into  small  pieces  with  their  daggers.  We  enjoyed  our 
supper  that  night.  The  next  day,  while  walking  along 
together,  the  two  soldiers  told  us  about  the  rebellion  that  had 
taken  place  in  that  district  not  long  ago,  and  which  they  had 
taken  a share  in  putting  do\vTi.  They  described  how  after 
the  rebels  had  been  defeated,  and  several  of  them  killed,  the 
soldiers,  in  accordance  with  a custom  which  is  fairly  coirimon 
in  some  parts,  had  taken  out  the  hearts,  etc.,  of  the  dead  men, 
and  had  eaten  them.  I asked  how  they  had  done  this,  and 
pointing  to  their  daggers  they  said  it  was  with  these  that 
Ihey  had  operated  on  the  dead  rebels.  The  very  same  dagger 
which  had  cut  up  the  rebels’  hearts  for  a cannibal  feast  had 
■ also  cut  up  the  fowfls  we  had  enjoyed  so  much  the  night 
before.  Had  there  been  such  a complete  change  in  the  state 
of  affairs  as  there  was  m the  year  of  the  Boxer  rising,  these 
s 


274  BACK  INTO  THE  DANGER  ZONE 


men  would  not  have  hesitated  to  have  tried  their  daggers 
on  us,  and  to  have  sampled  the  hearts  of  the  foreigners  they 
were  talking  to  now  in  such  a confidential,  friendly  way. 
A strange,  unfathomable  man  is  the  Chinaman.  Yet  we 
travelled  along  with  these  soldiers  like  good  comrades,  en- 
joying eaeh  other’s  company,  and  never  dreaming  that  any 
change  could  come  over  our  friendly  relations. 

Ydienever  you  saw  those  Nosu  hilhnen  eating  their  huge 
pieces  of  meat  you  eould  not  help  admiring  the  splendid  teeth 
they  had.  Now  and  again  we  eame  across  a man  whose  teeth 
had  pained  him  and  who  had  had  some  of  them  extracted. 
There  are  not  many,  however,  who  have  gone  through  an 
operation  of  that  kind,  and  when  it  was  deseribed  to  me  I 
did  not  wonder  at  that.  This  operation  in  Nosu  dentistry 
is  performed  in  the  following  manner.  A strong  piece  of 
bamboo  about  six  inches  in  length  is  procured.  This  piece 
of  bamboo  is  held  in  the  left  fist  firmly  and  the  end  is  placed 
against  the  tooth  that  is  wished  to  be  extracted.  \Mien  all 
is  ready  a big  blow  is  struek  at  the  end  of  the  bamboo,  and 
if  the  blow  is  skilfully  delivered  the  tooth  is  knoeked  out. 
One  wonders  where  it  is  knocked  to,  and  how  mueh  of  the 
jaw  goes  with  it.  I asked  what  happened  if  the  blow  were 
clumsily  delivered.  The  answer  was : “ Eat  bitterness.” 
The  patient  would  certainly  cat  bitterness.  I wondered  what 
share  of  this  bitterness  would  fall  to  the  lot  of  the  dentist. 
How  we  all  S3rmpathise  when  we  hear  stories  of  teeth  being 
extracted,  espeeially  if  we  can  go  back  to  the  days  before 
modern  dentistry  reached  its  present  state  of  efficiency.  I 
remember  that  one  of  my  earliest  experiences  in  this  line  was 
when  I was  away  at  school.  The  dentist  who  extracted  teeth 
for  all  the  boys,  and  any  people  in  the  village  near  by,  was 


BACK  INTO  THE  DANGER  ZONE  275 


the  blacksmith,  a sturdy,  fine,  good-natured  Devonian.  He, 
however,  could  shoe  a horse  better  than  he  could  draw  a 
tooth.  I wanted  two  extracted.  The  first  troubler  of  Israel 
came  out  all  right.  The  second  did  not.  So  the  friendly  black- 
smith chargeti  only  for  one,  sixpence  instead  of  a shilling. 

The  pluckiest  person  for  having  teeth  extracted  whom  I 
have  ever  come  across  was  an  aboriginal  woman  living 
among  these  West  China  hills.  She  came  to  me  one  Sunday, 
begging  me  to  help  her  out  of  her  trouble  by  pulling  some  of 
her  teeth.  I got  her  to  open  her  mouth  and  tell  me  which 
she  wished  extracted.  She  replied  to  my  inquiry  by  saying  : 
“ The  one  at  the  back,  teacher,  all  of  them.”  I started  with 
number  one  at  the  back,  and  it  came  out  cleanly.  The  old 
lady  did  not  wince  nor  cry.  She  merely  said : “ That  is 
splendid.  It  makes  you  feel  comfortable.  Now  the  next, 
teacher.”  Out  came  number  two.  No  wincing ; no  crying ; 
just  the  remark : “ That  is  splendid.  It  makes  you  feel 
comfortable.”  The  same  after  number  three  came  out,  and 
also  the  same  after  number  four  was  extracted.  WTien 
number  five  came  out  the  dear,  brave  old  soul,  with  her  mouth 
covered  with  blood,  said  : “ Thank  you,  teacher.  It  does  not 
hurt  a bit,  and  it  does  make  one  feel  comfortable.”  She 
opened  her  mouth  for  still  another,  but  I backed  out.  I was 
jolly  uncomfortable  if  the  old  lady  was  not.  \Mien  I re- 
membered how  I had  shaken  and  trembled  when  I visited  a 
certain  room  in  Finsbury  Pavement,  London,  I realised  what 
a great  amormt  of  pluck  this  hillwoman  had. 

Talking  about  the  teeth  has  made  one,  as  it  always  does, 
forget  everything  else.  We  must  return  to  the  spring  by  the 
hill -side  where  we  were  eating  the  buckwheat  cakes  and  the 
sword-cut  pork. 


276  BACK  INTO  THE  DANGER  ZONE 


Looking  through  the  telescope,  we  coijdd  see  the  rapids  of 
Shin  Chan  Keo,  and  the  little  market  town  in  all  the  busy 
rush  of  market  day.  We  began  to  hurry  on,  hoping  that  we 
might  get  across  the  roaring  Yangtse  before  the  market  was 
scattered.  As  we  were  going,  so  we  hoped,  to  stay  the  night 
at  the  little  town,  we  wanted  to  be  in  time  to  purchase  a few 
things  for  our  supper.  We  had  no  friendly  widows  or  brothers 
of  girls  with  coral  ear-rings,  or  even  drunken  Ah-poohs  waiting 
to  give  us  a welcome  and  the  best  of  their  hospitality.  We 
were  getting  back  into  China,  where  you  usually  pay  for  all 
you  get,  and  get  paid  for  as  little  of  what  you  give  as  the 
other  man  can  make  it  possible.  The  welcome  the  ferry 
people  were  preparing  for  us  was  quite  in  keeping  with  the 
character  of  Mr  Tien,  the  head-man  at  the  ferry  town.  We 
had  won  om  first  games,  but  we  had  not  yet  won  the  rubber. 
There  was  still  a chance  that  the  rubber  might  be  won  bj^ 
the  man  who  had  pitted  himself  against  oitr  party  and  was 
determined  to  come  off  best  if  he  possibly  could. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 


THE  PLOT  THAT  FAILED 

WHILE  we  were  enjoying  ourselves  wanclernig 
through  Nosuland,  lifting  the  veil  that  had  hidden 
the  people  of  that  remarkable  distriet  from  the 
knowledge  of  the  eivilised  world,  we  had  almost  forgotten 
China  proper,  and  all  the  people  who  lived  there.  We  re- 
membered how  the  Defender  of  the  Yangtse  and  those  under 
his  eontrol  had  attempted  to  block  us,  but  having  got  right 
away  from  their  direct  influence  we  had  felt  that  we  need 
not  worry  ourselves  much  about  them.  It  w’as  almost  “ Out 
of  sight,  out  of  mind.”  We  found  out,  however,  that  if  we 
were  willing  to  forget  them  they  were  quiet  unwilling  to 
treat  us  in  the  same  way.  The  fact  that  the  adventurous 
foreigner  had  actually  eluded  all  their  vigilance  and  balked 
all  their  plots,  and  had  actually  gone  into  the  land  which  they 
had  so  jealously  guarded  for  so  long,  annoyed  them  very 
much.  In  their  stupidity  or  wisdom  they  were  dreaming 
that  the  missionary  foreigner  was  already  concluding  an 
alliance  with  the  hillmen  which  would  be  to  the  detriment  of 
China  and  themselves.  This  outcome  of  affairs  was  a pill 
to  some  of  these  fussy  people  which  they  were  not  very  willing 
to  swallow. 

I have  mentioned  how  the  spy  was  sent  after  us  to  See-tieh, 
and  how  when  he  got  there  he  checkmated  our  plans  by 
making  Ah-pooh  drunk,  so  preventing  us  from  getting 
information  we  very  much  wished  to  get.  This  same  spy 


278 


THE  PLOT  THAT  FAILED 


turned  up  again  at  the  ferry  the  day  that  we  recrossed  the 
river.  With  our  return  his  work  was  completed.  If  he  told 
all  that  he  knew  about  our  journey,  I do  not  thuik  he  could 
have  told  much  to  our  harm.  Possibly  he  never  told  his 
friends  how  that  slave  woman  refused  him  free  drinks  of  cold 
water  and  made  him  look  very  small  before  the  others.  He 
was  not  likely  to  boast  about  a member,  a male  member  of 
the  ruling  race  who  had  been  successfully  defied  by  a woman 
of  the  despised  race. 

In  addition  to  sending  this  man  to  dog  our  footsteps  other 
messengers  were  sent  to  Nosu  in  another  direction.  East  of 
the  district  where  we  had  spent  such  a happy  time  live  two 
powerful  tribes,  the  Lai-lai  and  the  Sha-ma,  who  for  long  had 
been  at  enmity  with  the  four  tribes  who  had  become  so  un- 
friendly with  me.  These  two  parties  were  constantly  watch- 
ing each  other,  and  looking  out  for  opportunities  for  the 
payment  of  old  grudges.  Do  whatever  they  could,  the  score 
between  them  never  got  even,  and  apparently  there  was  no 
prospect  except  that  of  perpetual  enmity.  The  law  of  re- 
venge among  the  Nosu  being  what  it  is,  one  sees  no  way  out 
of  the  clan  feuds  except  by  the  introduction  of  an  outside 
influence  which  has  never  been  entangled  in  their  clan  quarrels. 
Some  time  after  the  tragic  death  of  the  chief,  Vri-ntee,  the 
Nhe  clan  determined  that  the  time  had  come  to  carry  out 
their  long-intended  attack  on  their  old  enemies,  the  Sha-ma. 
The  Nhe  men  bought  over  the  help  of  a number  of  Chinese, 
and  made  their  preparations  with  great  thoroughness.  A 
large  band  of  Nosu  were  gathered  together,  eager  to  revenge 
the  deeds  of  long  ago.  The  idea  of  forgiving  what  has  been 
done  in  the  past  never  seems  to  enter  the  heads  of  the  Nosu. 
The  avenging  bands  set  out  on  their  mission  of  revenge,  and 


THE  PLOT  THAT  FAILED  279 

soon  were  across  the  river  that  lies  between  the  lands  of  the 
two  opposing  parties.  With  the  help  of  their  allies  the  Nhc 
got  the  better  in  the  fight  and  chased  their  enemies  before 
them.  Over  thirty  of  the  Sha-ma  men  took  refuge  in  a tow'er, 
where  they  were  surrounded  by  an  enemy  bent  on  giving  no 
mercy.  The  Nhe  men  managed  to  set  the  lowest  stage  of  the 
tower  on  fire,  and  seeing  their  danger  some  of  the  inmates 
rushed  out  and  tried  to  fight  their  way  through.  Most  of 
them  were  cut  down.  Finding  the  lower  story  on  fire,  the 
men  who  remained  in  the  tower  fled  to  the  second  story,  and 
fought  from  there  as  best  they  could.  Out  of  this  they  were 
again  driven  by  the  pitiless  flames,  which  while  friendly  to  a 
dead  Nosu  are  merciless  to  a living  one.  At  last  the  little 
band  had  nothing  to  stand  on,  and  clung  to  the  beams  of  the 
roof.  Hanging  here,  the  fires  gradually  reached  them,  and 
one  by  one  they  had  to  let  go  and  be  devoured  in  the  magni- 
ficent but  cruel  funeral  p>Te  their  enemies  had  prepared 
for  them.  There  was  one  man  that  managed  to  escape  by 
a tremendous  jump.  WTien  the  fire  reached  the  second  floor 
he  realised  there  was  no  escape  to  those  who  remained  on, 
and  resolved  to  jump  for  it.  Climbing  up  to  a low  window, 
he  stooped  and  gave  a great  jump  which  not  only  cleared  the 
surrounding  wall  but  the  narrow  moat  outside.  He  landed 
among  his  enemies,  who  all  set  on  him.  With  such  despera- 
tion did  he  lay  about  him  that  he  fought  his  way  successfully 
through  and  escaped.  The  Nlie  men  marv^elled  at  the  man’s 
powers,  and  it  is  they  w^ho  will  never  forget  how  one  man  at 
any  rate  escaped  from  the  burning  tower.  In  this  murderous 
raid  of  revenge  the  Nhe  men  killed  over  seventy  strong  men 
of  their  enemies.  The  deaths  of  these  seventy,  of  course, 
more  than  wipes  out  the  balance  on  the  other  side,  and  now 


280 


THE  PLOT  THAT  FAILED 


the  Sha-ma  clan  will  wait  until  they  are  strong  enough  to 
pay  back  their  hereditary  foes.  So  the  sad,  stupid  story 
goes  on. 

Mr  Tien,  the  head-man  of  the  ferry  town,  resolved  to  make 
use  of  this  clan  hatred  to  further  his  schemes  against  us. 
It  may  be  wondered  why  he  did  not  finish  us  off  directly  and 
so  save  further  trouble.  It  must  be  remembered,  however, 
that  the  Chinese  do  not  particularly  like  to  do  things  directly 
if  they  can  do  them  in  a roundabout  w'ay.  A man  proposes 
to  a lady  through  another  man.  China  tries  to  beat  back 
the  powerful  forces  of  Russia  by  intriguing  and  setting  Russia 
and  Japan  against  each  other.  The  whole  actions  of  Mr  Tien 
were  characteristically  Chinese.  He  remembered  that  the 
Chinese  had  to  pay  a terrible  price  for  having  allowed 
the  direct  tactics  of  the  Boxers.  He  knew  also  that  even  the 
powerful  secret  society  palaces  have  failed  to  protect  a man 
when  justice  is  demanded  for  the  murder  of  a European. 
He,  like  many  others,  preferred  to  work  in  a vicarious  manner 
with  the  uncanny  foreigner,  blows  against  whom  act  in  a 
boomerang  fashion  and  recoil  on  the  hitter.  Superstition 
also  plays  a part  in  these  matters.  Another  name  for  the 
“ palaces  ” of  the  brotherhood  is  “ river  mouths.”  I.ong 
ago  some  wise  member  of  the  brotherhood  uttered  a prophetic 
epigram  which  may  have  restrained  attacks  on  foreigners 
many  times.  He  said  : “ When  the  ocean  dies  the  river 
will  be  destroyed.”  The  word  ocean  is  taken  as  meaning 
“ ocean  men,”  the  frequent  term  used  for  foreigners.  The 
river,  of  course,  refers  to  the  secret  societies.  A brotherhood 
man  who  remembers  this  prophetic  phrase  does  not,  there- 
fore, usually  seek  the  direct  death  of  a foreigner,  lest  it  may 
result  in  the  destruction  of  his  palace  or  river  mouth.  But 


An  Underground  River 


THE  PLOT  THAT  FAILED 


281 


lie  has  many  other  ways  in  which  he  can  do  dire  mischief  to 
the  so-called  men  of  the  ocean. 

Mr  Tien,  therefore,  sent  agents  across  to  the  Lai-lai  and 
Sha-ma  clans,  and  did  his  best  to  stir  them  up  to  attack  the 
foreigner  and  party  who  had  been  received  so  kindly  by  their 
enemies.  He  tried  to  work  on  their  cupidity  by  describing 
the  immense  wealth  of  Mr  Long  and  the  Englishman.  He 
was  right  in  regard  to  my  friend,  for  Mr  Long  is  the  owner 
of  many  thousands  of  acres  of  fine  land,  in  fact  of  estates 
that  would  rank  him  among  the  aristocracy  were  his  land 
in  England.  But  the  wealth  of  the  foreigner  was  grossly 
exaggerated.  A missionary  of  one  of  the  smaller  Methodist 
bcKlies  does  not  usually  possess  a fortune.  I know  that  I 
did  not,  though  I have  often  wished  that  I did.  I have  even 
planned  and  schemed  as  to  what  I should  do  if  a thousand 
pounds  were  given  me  for  my  work,  but  all  these  plannings 
are  but  dreams,  day-dreams,  so  far.  I did  once  have  a million 
of  money  given  me  by  my  native  friends  for  one  year’s  work, 
and  so  for  the  time  was  a kind  of  a millionaire  missionary 
with  full  coffers.  But  the  money  was  copper  cash,  at  about 
fifty  to  the  penny,  and  the  money  came  from  the  poorest  of 
the  poor.  My  adventures  as  a millionaire,  though  they  were 
deeply  interesting,  did  not  take  me  very  far. 

These  facts  about  the  fortune  of  the  foreign  traveller  among 
the  Nosu  were  not  knovTi  to  the  seekers  after  wealth,  the  Lai- 
lai  and  the  Sha-ma.  They,  however,  believed  the  stories  of 
Mr  Tien,  and  thought  that  if  they  possessed  themselves  of 
our  two  persons  they  would  be  able  to  demand  a good  ransom. 
They  thought  that  the  ransom  would  be  forthcoming  when 
we  got  to  understand  the  alternatives  w'hich  awaited  us  if  we 
did  not  pay  up.  When  the  Nosu  in  their  o^vn  land  wish  to 


282 


THE  PLOT  THAT  FAILED 


extract  a ransom  from  a captive  they  have  many  kinds  of 
torture  which  they  apply.  One  is  to  tie  up  the  captive  and 
then,  in  his  presence,  kill  a sheep  or  an  ox.  The  kidneys  and 
the  intestines  are  then  soaked  in  boiling  water.  The  burning 
hot  kidneys  are  then  placed  in  the  armpits  of  the  captive 
and  the  intestines  are  tied  around  his  chest  to  keep  the 
kidneys  in  position.  Another  method  is  to  tie  new  palm 
ropes  all  about  the  body  as  tightly  as  possible.  Then  cold 
water  is  thrown  over  the  ropes.  This  makes  them  con- 
tract and  eat  into  the  flesh.  Another  favourite  plan  of  the 
Nosu  is  to  drive  a large  stake  into  the  ground  with  the  top 
split  a little.  The  victim’s  two  thumbs  are  then  tied  by 
thin  cord  to  the  sides  of  the  top  of  the  stake.  A wedge  is 
then  driven  into  the  split  at  the  top,  and  the  agony  endured 
is  terrible.  I arrived  on  the  scene  once  when  an  Earth  Eye 
was  treating  one  of  his  tenants  in  this  way.  Strange  to  say, 
it  was  the  wife  of  the  Earth  Eye  who  drove  the  wedge  in 
with  repeated  blows.  The  Earth  Eye  invited  our  party  to 
stay  and  have  supper  with  him,  but  we  did  not  accept  the 
invitation. 

With  such  weapons  in  their  armoury  the  chiefs  of  the  two 
clans  felt  sure  that  if  they  could  on^e  capture  us  they  would 
make  sure  of  the  ransom.  If  they  only  succeeded  in  their 
plans  the  gates  of  El  Dorado  would  open  to  them  at  last. 

Mr  Tien  knew  that  we  were  going  to  return  by  the  same 
ferry.  His  spies  had  kej)t  him  well  posted  in  all  the  news. 
He  arranged,  therefore,  with  the  conspirators  of  the  hostile 
clans,  that  the  ferry-boat  should  be  delayed  on  the  day  of  our 
arrival  so  that  as  it  got  on  towards  dusk  these  hill  raiders 
could  rush  out  from  their  hiding-place  and  capture  the  two 
men,  each  of  whom  was  reported  to  be  worth  a ransom  of 


THE  PLOT  THAT  FAILED 


283 


ton  thousand  ounces  of  silver.  In  this  way  they  concluded 
that  no  blame  could  be  fixed  for  our  capture  on  the  peojilo 
of  the  ferry  town.  It  would  be  represented  that  it  was 
merely  an  accident  that  the  ferry  liad  been  delayed,  and  that 
the  raids  of  the  hillmen  are  always  unexpected  and  outside 
the  control  of  the  Defender  of  the  Yangtsc.  Possibly  when 
the  hue  and  cry  was  raised  some  shots  would  have  been  fired 
by  the  Chinese  on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  so  as  nominally 
to  frighten  off  the  raiders.  If  the  heavy  ransom  demanded 
was  not  forthcoming,  and  the  two  eaptives  in  the  end  were 
killed,  no  blame  could  be  attached  to  the  hidden  engineers 
of  the  coup,  and  even  the  “ river  mouth  ” palaces  would  be 
clear,  as  the  brotherhood  would  not  be  the  direct  authors 
of  the  death  of  the  ocean  man. 

Rut  the  best-laid  schemes  of  men  often  go  a^vry.  Mis- 
earriage  of  sueh  schemes  is  so  frequent  that  it  almost  becomes 
a rule.  Many  centuries  ago,  during  the  troubled  romantic 
times  which  gave  rise  to  the  Story  of  the  Three  Kingdoms, 
the  novel  referred  to  in  Chapter  VI.,  the  famous  philosopher 
and  strategist  who  is  the  real  hero  of  the  book  uttered  on 
one  occasion  the  pregnant  words  : “ Scheming  belongs  to 
man,  carrying  out  belongs  to  Heaven,”  an  almost  exaet 
parallel  of  “ Man  proposes  but  God  disposes.”  Scheming 
belonged  to  Mr  Tien  and  his  allies.  They  made  sure  that 
they  would  succeed  and  that  no  foreigner  would  again  attempt 
to  cross  the  Yangtse  against  their  will.  But  they  also  again 
reekoned  without  their  host,  and  forgot  the  sage  dictum  of 
the  great  hero  of  the  story  of  the  first  brotherhood. 

Tlie  Lai-lai  and  Sha-ma  laid  their  plans,  and  on  the  day  we 
climbed  dowm  towards  the  ferry  they  prepared  to  carry  them 
out.  They  gathered  their  bands  together  and  had  their 


284 


THE  PLOT  THAT  FAH.ED 


rendezvous  in  a cave  which  overlooked  the  ferry.  Scouts 
were  sent  to  find  out  the  strength  of  our  party.  These 
were  evidently  a bit  disconcerted  at  the  number  of  men 
composing  our  band.  Then,  in  addition,  the  stories  of  the 
thousand-li  gun,  and  the  terrible  camera  which  the  man 
from  the  sunset  carried,  had  reached  these  would-be  kid- 
nappers. At  close  quarters  the  sudden  swoop  did  not  look  so 
easy.  Hesitation  soon  began  to  show  itself  in  the  ranks  of 
the  conspirators. 

Meanwhile  we  were  climbing  om  way  down  the  steep  hill 
towards  the  ferry,  and  were  expecting  before  long  to  be  out 
of  Nosuland.  As  we  worked  our  way  down  I wondered  how 
the  carriers  of  the  huge  coffin  boards  managed  to  get  their 
burdens  safely  over  such  a rough  road.  Later  on,  when  going 
up  the  other  side  towards  Chaotung,  I wondered  still  more 
how  they  managed  to  carry  their  death  boxes  up  such  tre- 
mendous hills,  and  all  for  such  little  pay.  The  burden-bearers 
of  West  China  do  indeed  know  the  bitterness  of  life.  In  this 
the  women  take  a part.  I have  frequently  seen  women 
carrying  loads  of  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred 
and  twenty  pounds  up  steep  hills  that  made  one  tfied  even 
when  walking  empty-handed.  Yunnan  has  always  been 
looked  upon  by  Chinese  officials  as  a province  of  poverty. 
One  official  from  Peking  kept  a diary  of  his  experiences  in 
Yunnan.  In  this  diary  he  refers  to  the  heavy  burdens  borne 
by  the  women.  He  tells  of  one  woman  carrying  a heavy 
load  of  coal  on  one  of  the  hilly  roads,  and  says  that  one  day 
she  put  her  load  down  by  the  roadside  for  a while.  After  a 
not  very  long  delay  she  reappeared  and  took  up  her  burden 
again.  This  time  she  had  an  extra  burden  in  the  shape  of  a 
new-born  baby,  whose  advent  into  the  world  had  delayed  lier 


285 


THE  PLOT  THAT  FAILED 

for  a sliort  time  on  her  heavy  burden-bearing  journey.  The 
official  instanced  this  as  showing  what  a strong  race  the 
Yunnan  people  arc.  He  does  not  know  the  awful  price  tliat 
poor  woman  would  have  to  pay  in  later  years  for  her  terrible 
experience. 

Before  we  reached  the  water’s  edge  we  began  to  shout  across 
to  the  other  side,  giving  the  captain  of  the  ferry  warning  that 
our  party  would  soon  be  wanting  to  be  taken  across  to  the 
Yunnan  shores.  We  hoped  tliat  he  would  hear  our  shouts 
and  be  on  the  Nosu  side  to  meet  us  as  soon  as  we  had  finished 
our  long  climb  down.  Most  Chinese  ferrymen,  expecting  a 
good  tip,  would  have  done  this  readily.  But  as  we  neared  the 
Yangtsc  waters  we  saw  no  signs  of  any  response  to  our  shouts. 
The  boat  was  still  tied  up  securely  to  the  Yunnan  bank, 
and  there  was  no  move  whatever  on  the  part  of  the  ferry 
captain.  This  procedure  considerably  disconcerted  us.  At 
first  we  did  not  see  tlirough  the  plot,  and  were  merely  annoyed 
at  the  delay.  Our  escort  ^^^shed  to  see  us  safely  over  the 
river  and  then  were  going  to  retm*n  up  that  hill  past  the 
danger  zone  that  same  night.  We  were  anxious  not  to  delay 
them  unduly.  It  was  very  kind  of  them  to  come  so  far  with  us 
and  we  did  not  wash  to  trespass  on  their  kindness  any  more. 

The  first  hour  passed  fairly  pleasantly,  thinking  that  every 
ten  minutes  would  see  the  eaptain  hurrying  along  from  the 
market  to^vn.  After  the  first  hour  was  over,  and  still  there 
was  no  sign  of  the  boatman,  our  men  lost  their  temper  and 
began  roimdly  cursing  all  the  ten  thousand  generations  that 
had  led  up  to  the  birth  of  the  captain  who  refused  to  appear. 
I have  usually  found  that  the  aboriginals,  when  they  start 
swearing,  do  so  in  Chinese.  Their  own  words  have  entirely 
failed  by  the  side  of  the  Chinese  epithets,  which  express  with  a 


286  THE  PLOT  THAT  FAILED 

refined  force  or  blunt  coarseness  the  most  terrible  or  horrible 
curses  a person  in  his  wildest  passion  would  wish  to  give 
utterance  to.  A knowledge  of  the  swear  words  of  the 
Chinese  gives  one  an  open  window  into  their  real  thoughts 
and  wishes.  It  is  often  said  in  extenuation  that  the  Chinese 
use  these  terrible,  filthy  oaths  without  thought  or  under- 
standing of  their  import.  Such  is  not  the  case,  for  when  two 
men  or  women  really  warm  up  to  the  fray  it  is  like  a closely 
fought  game  of  chess  when  each  antagonist  meets  the  move 
of  the  other  with  a careful  counter  move  of  his  own.  They 
understand  all  too  well  what  they  say,  and  thrust  and  parry 
with  the  skill  of  practised  gladiators. 

We  were  kept  waiting  four  hours  at  the  ferry,  unable  to 
cross  over  the  hundred  yards  tliat  separated  us  from  the 
safety  of  China  proper. 

Near  by  where  we  were  waiting  was  a shingle  beach,  at  the 
junction  of  a small  stream  with  the  Yangtse.  Several  of  us 
went  down  to  this  beach,  and,  to  while  the  time  away,  began 
throwing  stones.  This  led  on  to  talk  about  the  stories 
that  had  gone  abroad  concerning  the  foreigner’s  prowess  in 
stone-catching.  Several  of  the  party  tried  me  again.  Once 
more  most  of  the  stones  proved  quite  easy  of  catch,  for  the 
men  were  too  polite  to  pelt  me  in  dead  earnest.  While  we 
were  enjoying  the  fun  and  killing  the  tedium  of  waiting  for 
the  immovable  ferry,  the  men  in  the  cave  were  watching, 
and  from  what  they  saw  they  came  to  the  conclusion  tliat 
the  uncamiy  foreigner,  whom  rumour  said  a hundred  men 
could  not  hit,  had  better  be  left  alone.  The  simple  fun  of 
stone-throwing  and  stone-catching  set  alight  the  fires  of  the 
raiders’  superstitions,  and  the  signal  was  given  that  we  were 
too  strong  to  be  attacked.  True  it  is  tliat  fears  as  well  as 


THE  PLOT  THAT  FAILED 


287 


conscience  make  cowards  of  us  all.  Of  course  we  were  at 
the  time  unaware  of  all  that  was  going  on  with  the  Lai-lai 
and  Sha-ma,  but  the  full  story  came  out  later  on,  and  I re- 
ceived a very  friendly  invitation  to  go  and  visit  the  Sha-ma 
tribe,  who  had  been  nearly  swindled  into  making  an  attack 
on  a foreigner  who  had  never  done  them  any  harm  and  only 
wished  them  well. 

The  stone-throwing  was  the  simple  move  tliat  once  more 
cheekmated  IMi-  Tien.  Sometimes  the  moving  of  even  a 
pawn  will  help  in  winning  a game.  After  the  stone-throwing 
the  keeping  back  of  the  ferry-boat  was  useless.  Once  the 
superstitious  fears  of  the  Lai-lai  and  Sha-ma  had  been 
aroused,  the  ferry-boat  might  have  delayed  all  night  without 
these  clansmen  attempting  to  capture  us.  Beaten  again, 
Mr  Tien  1 We  win  the  rubber  ! 

We  fired  off  our  guns  to  attract  attention.  Our  men 
woke  up  now  and  again,  and  once  more  attacked  the  an- 
cestors of  the  captain  and  all  the  crew.  At  last,  just  at  dark, 
the  four  hours  of  weary  waiting  came  to  an  end  and  the 
captain  appeared.  Tlie  boat  once  more  came  across  to  Nosu 
shores,  ^^^len  we  were  all  safely  across  we  said  good-bye 
for  a time  to  Nosuland,  wFose  people  had  been  so  courteous 
and  kind  to  the  stranger  who  liad  come  among  them.  The 
captain  of  the  boat  was  in  a very  bad  temper  and  he  also 
swore  soundly  at  our  men  as  they  came  on  board.  His 
plans  had  miscarried  and  he  was  not  at  all  pleased. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 


UP  THE  HILLS  AND  HOME  AGAIN 

At  last  we  were  safely  over  the  Yangtse  and  said 
farewell  to  the  ferry-boat  that  had  caused  us  such  a 
lot  of  trouble  and  had  drawn  out  such  a lot  of  pictur- 
esque language  from  both  those  who  had  been  delayed  and 
those  who  had  delayed.  The  last  time  I went  in  that 
direction,  only  a month  or  two  ago,  there  was  no  ferry-boat 
at  Shin  Chan  Keo,  and  the  captain  was  dead.  A short  time 
previously  he  had  taken  the  boat  across  to  the  Nosu  side  to 
ferry  over  a number  of  aboriginals  and  Chinese  who  had  been 
among  the  hills  in  connection  with  opium  planting  or  pur- 
chasing. The  boat  was  crowded,  and  the  opium  being 
brought  across  was  a valuable  cargo.  The  men  were  expect- 
ing to  sell  out  to  the  Chinese  south  of  the  river,  where  the 
Government  campaign  against  opium  was  in  full  swing, 
forcing  up  prices  to  a very  high  figure.  The  boat  was  pushed 
off ; the  two  men  at  the  oars  began  to  row  hard  so  as  to  cross 
before  the  boat  was  swept  down  too  near  the  terrible  rapids. 
The  captain  was  in  charge  of  the  long-oar  rudder,  and  was 
giving  his  orders  in  his  usual  terse,  picturesque  way,  when 
suddenly  there  was  an  ominous  creaking  of  boards  parting 
company.  In  a short  time  water  began  to  rush  in  and  the 
boat  began  to  break  in  two.  Panic  seized  everybody.  Most 
of  the  passengers  were  armed,  and  when  they  saw  that  a 
terrible  death  was  threatening  them  they  rose  in  fury  against 
the  captam  and  with  their  swords  slashed  him  unmercifully. 

288 


UP  THE  HTLI.S  AND  HOME  AGAIN  289 


The  two  men  at  the  oars  jumped  overboard  and  managed 
to  S'wim  ashore.  All  the  rest  were  drowned.  Those  terrible 
rapids  had  their  sacrifice  of  life  at  last.  The  new  boat  that 
was  in  building  W'as  not  yet  ready  when  I was  there. 

We  were  on  Chinese  soil  once  more,  and  everything  was 
ehangetl.  Almost  the  first  sight  that  met  us  was  one  that 
made  us  realise  that  though  Ihe  Chinese  are  in  many  ways 
far  ahead  of  the  aboriginals  there  are  some  things  that  the 
latter' ean  teach  their  overlords.  We  met,  hobbling  away 
from  the  market  towards  her  village  home,  a little  girl  with 
the  crippled  feet  so  fashionable  among  the  Chinese  of  all 
classes.  In  spite  of  the  sage  Mencius  and  his  concise 
verdict  to  the  contrary,  the  aboriginals  have  many  points 
of  character  which  the  Sons  of  Han  might  imitate  w'ith 
advantage. 

Tire  sight  of  the  little  girl  with  the  crippled  feet  made  us 
realise  that  we  were  again  in  the  land  where  woman  takes  a 
second  place,  in  the  land  of  infanticide,  of  the  selling  of  girls 
for  immorality,  of  huge  insanitary  graves,  of  polished  in- 
sincerity, of  evil-smelling  streets  and  of  hatred  to  foreigners. 
A feeling  half  of  home-sickness  came  over  one  as  one  remem- 
bered the  free  life  of  the  hillmen  and  the  natural  feet  of  the 
children  and  the  way  a woman  or  girl  would  look  into  one’s 
face  without  a trace  of  immodest  modesty. 

We  made  our  way  down  to  the  market  and  got  settled  in 
an  inn  for  the  night.  We  had  done  what  we  set  out  to  do, 
and  w'ere  back  again  in  Mr  Tien’s  district,  smiling  up  our 
sleeves  at  the  way  he  liad  been  defeated  on  all  hands. 

We  had  not  been  settled  in  the  inn  long  before  Mr  Lo,  the 
arbitrator  in  local  quarrels,  came  along  to  help  Mr  Long  in  a 
couple  of  difficult  cases.  It  appeared  that  when  we  formerly 

T 


290  UP  THE  HILLS  AND  HOME  AGAIN 


stayed  in  this  inn  on  our  way  to  Nosuland  the  lady  of  the 
inn  lent  her  water  pipe — the  Chinese  hubble-bubble — to  one 
of  Mr  Long’s  men.  She  stated  that  he  had  never  returned 
it,  and  now  eame  demanding  either  its  produetion  or  the  price 
of  the  pipe,  which  was  estimated  at  five  hvuidred  cash.  The 
man  who  was  accused  replied  that  the  pipe  had  been  passed 
on  to  one  and  another  who  wanted  a smoke,  and  that  in  the 
end  he  had  duly  handed  it  back  to  Mrs  Boniface. 

In  a case  like  this  I imagine  a Westerner  would  be  some- 
what nonplussed.  The  absolute  absence  of  truth-telling  in 
these  disputes,  except  when  it  pays  to  tell  it,  makes  a clear 
decision  a very  difficult  thing  to  arrive  at.  The  Chinaman 
has,  however,  evolved  a way  out  of  most  difficulties,  and  he 
long  ago  found  out  how  to  deal  with  such  knotty  problems. 
He  calls  in  the  aid  of  the  spirit  world,  and  misfortune  being 
so  prevalent  and  so  generally  put  down  to  the  influence  of 
malign  spirits,  most  people  are  afraid  wantonly  to  insult  the 
denizens  of  the  world  of  shades.  After  hearing  both  sides. 
Arbitrator  Lo  decided  that  an  oath  of  innocence  must  be 
taken  before  the  spirits  of  the  heavens.  If  the  landlady  would 
take  this  oath  then  the  five  hundred  cash  must  be  paid  to 
her.  If  she  refused,  and  the  accused  was  willing  to  take  the 
oath,  then  the  five  hundred  cash  need  not  be  paid,  and  the 
affair  was  at  an  end.  The  gods  were  supposed  to  be  able  to 
look  after  their  side  of  the  affair.  The  rank  and  file  do  not 
yet  suppose  that  the  gods  are  incapable  of  doing  justice. 
I did,  however,  on  one  occasion  see  a distressed  woman  in 
the  Temple  of  Hades,  who  evidently  thought  that  the  gods 
were  capable  of  terrible  mistakes  or  cruel  wrongs.  Her  son 
had  died,  and  she  was  roundly  accusing  the  King  of  Hades  of 
having  seized  hold  of  the  wrong  man.  “ You  blind  King  1 


ITP  THE  HILLS  AND  HOME  AGAIN  291 


You  stupid,  blind  King  ! Why  did  you  make  such  a mistake 
and  seize  hold  of  my  boy  instead  of  the  sinner  you  were  really 
after  ? ” All  her  blamings  and  chidings  failed  to  bring  her 
boy  back  again,  and  one  wonders  whether  she  ever  shuddered 
when  she  remembered  how  she  had  so  bearded  the  august, 
terrible  personage  who  is  at  the  head  of  the  regime  in  the 
Chinese  Hades. 

We  waited  awhile  in  the  inn  while  the  landlady  and  the 
accused  man  went  outside  under  the  heavens.  Presently 
they  returned.  The  woman  had  refused  to  take  the  oath, 
but  the  man  had  taken  it.  There  was  no  paying  up  of  the 
five  hundred  cash.  Our  people  persisted  that  it  was  a 
trumped-up  case  on  the  part  of  the  landlady.  She  evidently 
knew  the  state  of  feeling  between  the  head  of  the  market  town 
and  our  party,  and  thought  it  a favourable  opportunity  of 
making  a little  profit. 

Having  finished  this  case  about  the  pipe,  Mr  Lo  undertook 
another  in  which  Eh-tsu,  the  son  of  the  friendly  widow,  Ah- 
ku,  was  one  of  the  interested  parties.  A Chinese  named  Liao 
and  Eh-tsu’s  father  had  been  friends  and  partners  in  trading 
in  the  produce  of  the  hills.  The  father  died  and  there  was 
suspicion  that  Liao  had  poisoned  him.  Later  on  Liao  had 
borrowed  a gun  from  Eh-tsu,  undertaking  to  get  it  thoroughly 
repaired.  He  also  borrowed  ten  ounces  of  silver,  of  which 
six  thousand  cash,  about  a third  of  the  money,  had  been  paid 
back.  The  gun  had  been  repaired  for  two  and  a half  ounces 
of  silver.  Now  Eh-tsu  wanted  the  return  of  the  gun  and  the 
pa\Tnent  of  the  balance  of  the  loan.  Mr  Liao  stated  in  reply 
that  the  father  had  borrowed  twenty  oimces  of  silver  from 
him  and  that  he  intended  to  stick  to  the  gun  until  the  son 
paid  up  his  father’s  debt.  The  father  being  dead  and  unable 


292  UP  THE  HILLS  AND  HOME  AGAIN 


to  give  evidence  in  the  case,  we  wondered  how  ]\Ir  Lo  would 
decide  in  the  matter. 

Once  again  the  spirits  were  summoned  to  assist.  After  a 
lot  of  talk,  Mr  Lo  decided  that  the  gun  was  to  be  returned  to 
Eh-tsu,  and  the  balance  of  the  ten  taels  was  to  be  overlooked, 
in  consideration  of  the  poverty  of  Mr  Liao.  As  to  the  twenty 
ounces  said  to  have  been  borrowed  by  the  father,  Liao  was 
to  go  to  the  grave  where  the  ashes  of  Eh-tsu’s  father  rested. 
He  was  there  to  kill  a dog  or  a fowl,  taking  an  oath  as  to  the 
twenty  ounces  of  silver.  If  he  did  that  then  the  son  w'as  to 
repay  the  money  for  his  father.  The  widow’s  son  and  his 
party  readily  agreed  to  this  arrangement,  but  Mr  Liao  wdth 
very  bad  grace  went  for  the  gun  he  had  resolved  to  stick  to. 
One  saw,  during  the  few  hours  of  that  evening,  what  a very 
important  part  the  spirits  take  in  the  settling  of  disputes. 
One  wonders  what  will  happen  when  the  people  throw  over 
their  faith  in  the  gods  and  are  consequently  not  at  all 
nervous  about  taking  an  oath  in  the  presence  of  the  spirits 
of  the  heavens  or  of  the  land  of  the  shades.  Some  other 
way  will  have  to  be  devised  to  make  the  people  tell  the 
truth. 

In  the  inn  at  the  ferry  toum  -we  missed  the  welcome  fires 
around  which  we  had  sat  night  after  night  yarning.  Though 
the  fires  were  absent  the  yarning  went  on  apace.  The  Chinese 
were  deeply  interested  in  the  visit,  and  in  the  stories  told  by 
our  men.  Mr  Tien  was  not  ready  even  now'  to  owm  up  to  his 
defeat.  He  also  invoked  the  spirits  to  his  aid.  He  persisted 
in  telling  the  people  that  Mr  Long  and  his  party  had  not 
really  gone  over  with  me,  but  that  I had  taken  their  spirits 
across  by  the  aid  of  my  powerful  magic.  The  Nosu  men 
who  returned  with  me  told  stories  about  the  visitor  and  the 


UP  THE  HILLS  AND  HOME  AGAIN  298 


stones.  Tlicy  said  that  when  stones  seemed  to  hit  rae  they 
really  fell  harmlessly  in  front  and  did  no  injury.  When  the 
Chinese  on  the  market  heard  this  they  exclaimed  : “ No 
wonder  he  had  the  pluck  to  go  among  the  wild  hillmen.  VVc 
thought  that  he  must  have  some  wonderful  magical  powers 
at  his  disposal.”  Someone  standing  by  capped  the  stone 
stories  by  chiming  in  with  “ It  is  not  only  stones  he  can  stop, 
but  bullets  also.”  I am  glad  that  no  one  ever  put  this  to 
the  test,  or  my  fate  would  have  been  that  of  the  Boxers  who 
came  with  such  claims  to  the  yamen  of  Yuan-shi-kai  when  he 
was  governor  of  the  province  of  Shantimg.  The  bullets 
went  through  them  right  enough. 

The  Chinese  who  went  w ith  us  were  very  glad  to  be  back 
among  their  own  people  again.  They  had  had  enough  of  the 
land  where  they  had  to  play  second  fiddle  and  where  there 
was  an  absence  of  the  leeks  and  garlic  they  were  so  fond  of. 
1 had  very  much  annoyed  them  while  we  were  at  the  friendly 
widow’s.  When  the  veal  was  brought  in  these  tliinese  were 
disgusted.  Many  Chinese  would  rather  starve  than  eat  the 
flesh  of  the  cow  in  any  form.  These  men  with  me  were  of 
this  class.  When  the  widow’  asked  me  whether  1 was  pleased 
with  the  meal  she  had  got  for  us  1 used  one  of  the  few  words 
I knew  to  tell  her  it  was  “ delicious.”  This  was  the  last 
straw.  The  Chinese  thought  that  if  only  I had  grumbled  at 
the  dish  that  w’as  so  anathema  to  them  there  would  have 
been  a chance  of  their  getting  something  more  to  their  liking. 
VMien  I used  the  word  “ delicious  ” their  hopes  of  a change 
of  diet  fled,  and  they  w ere  disgusted  with  the  foreigner  who 
played  the  game  of  his  hosts  rather  than  that  of  a few  beef- 
hating  Chinese. 

We  stayed  only  one  night  at  the  feriy’  town,  and  the  next 


294  UP  THE  HILLS  AND  HOME  AGAIN 


day  climbed  uj:)  the  difficult  hills  to  Mr  Long’s  home.  All 
the  friends  there  Avere  glad  to  sec  us  back  in  safety. 

A few  days  after  I was  back  home  again  at  Chaotung,  to 
find  myself  a wonder  to  many.  That  I had  got  safely  into 
the  land  of  the  hillmen  and  come  back  to  tell  the  story  seemed 
a marvel  to  these  Chinese,  whose  ideas  of  the  hill  Nosu  are  as 
exaggerated  and  false  as  many  of  their  ideas  concerning  the 
terrible  foreigner,  who  is  commonly  reported  to  extract  the 
black  eyes  of  the  (Chinese  children  that  he  may  make  a wash 
for  his  own  eyes,  which  are  of  a grey  colour,  and  so  are  pre- 
sumed to  have  faded  and  to  be  incapable  of  seeing  us  clearly 
sa  the  Chinese  eyes. 

While  1 had  been  away  all  kinds  of  rumours  had  been 
flying  about.  It  was  reported  that  I had  l)een  killed,  and 
other  missionaries  in  the  same  town  were  afraid  these  reports 
were  all  too  true.  My  wife  saw  them  on  several  occasions 
whispering  together,  and  speaking  with  serious  faces,  as  if 
in  the  kindness  of  their  hearts  they  were  afraid  to  break  the 
terrible  news  to  her.  She  smiled  at  all  this  and  refused  to 
believe  a word  of  the  rumours.  She  felt  sure  that  her  husband 
would  be  back  home  again  in  safety,  having  accomplished 
what  he  set  out  to  do.  Some  were  a bit  annoyed  that  she 
was  so  cool,  and  seemed  to  think  she  was  frivolous  in  not 
})utting  on  a coneerned  air.  But  she  kej)t  her  own  counsel, 
and  slejit  soundly  all  those  nights.  It  was  half  thought  tliat 
she  ought  to  begin  to  order  her  widow’s  weeds.  She  smiled  at 
it  all,  for  she  knew  the  man  l\Ir  I^ong,  who  had  been  the  guide 
of  the  party,  and  had  every  confidence  in  him.  And  she 
knew  also  what  a lying  jade  Dame  Rumour  is. 

H.  E.  Chen,  the  Defenderof  the  Yangtsc,  had  duly  reported 
to  the  officials  at  Chaotung  that  I had  gone  across  the  river 


ITP  THE  HILLS  AND  HOME  AGAIN  295 


and  had  expressed  a fear  that  the  hillmen  would  murder  me. 
The  Prefect,  the  head  oflicial  of  the  district,  was  an  old 
gentleman  from  the  province  of  Kiang-si,  who  was  very  kind 
and  friendly  to  us.  It  distressed  him  that  I had  gone  into 
such  danger,  and  he  was  anxious  to  rescue  me  if  possible. 
Telegrams  were  dispatched  to  the  Viceroy  at  Yunnan  Fu,  but 
the  Viceroy  was  unable  to  do  anything  in  the  matter,  for  at 
that  time  there  was  no  British  Consul  present  in  the  city  who 
could  send  orders  to  his  fellow-subject.  The  Viceroy  then 
sent  a messenger  to  the  Roman  Catholic  bishop,  hoping  that 
in  some  way  he  might  be  able  to  help  in  the  difficulty  the 
officials  were  experiencing.  But  the  mandarins  could  find 
no  one  who  could  bring  pressure  on  me  and  compel  me  to 
return  to  the  safe  shelter  of  the  Chinese  fold.  Everything 
was  working  in  my  favour.  The  officials  could  find  no  way 
of  getting  at  me,  and  while  they  were  deep  in  thought  and 
scheme  for  the  safety  of  the  British  missionary  I was  having 
the  time  of  my  life,  all  unconscious  of  the  anxiety  I was 
causing  to  others.  Messengers  were  sent  in  one  direction 
and  another,  but  as  the  Chinese  Imperial  writ  did  not  run  in 
Nosuland  I was  quite  unmolested. 

The  friendly  Prefect  persuaded  another  missionary  to 
write  to  me,  telling  me  of  my  danger  and  advising  my  retiun. 
This  curious  letter  reached  me  some  time  after  I had  finished 
my  wanderings  and  was  safe  home  again.  It  liad  gone  on 
its  travels  to  one  place  and  another,  but  had  failed  to  reach 
me  in  time  to  worry  me  in  the  slightest.  On  the  big  red 
official  envelope  in  which  the  letter  was  enclosed  was  \vritten 
the  command  : “ Let  the  messenger  fly  and  deliver  this 
urgent  message  to  the  missionary  Pollard.”  I still  have  this 
envelope  as  an  example  of  how  quickly  an  official  message 


296  UP  THE  HILLS  AND  HOME  AGAIN 


can  be  delivered  when  the  officials  are  anxious,  or  not,  tliat  it 
sliall  be  delivered.  Of  course,  in  case  I had  been  murdered, 
all  this  fuss  and  manoeuvring  would  have  been  produced  as 
evidence  that  I had  deservedly  met  my  fate,  as  the  result  of 
rash  adventure.  All’s  well  that  ends  well. 

On  the  afternoon  of  my  arrival  the  Prefect  called  on  my 
wife  and  was  overjoyed  to  see  me  safe  and  sound.  He  for 
once  forgot  his  correct  politeness  and  seized  me  by  the  liand, 
telling  me,  with  some  emotion,  how  glad  he  was  to  see  me  back 
in  safety.  If  I could  have  read  right  to  the  back  of  this 
gentleman’s  mind  I should  have  seen  that  it  was  not  so  much 
the  hillmen  he  had  feared  but  the  scheme  of  the  Defender  of 
the  Yangtse,  of  which  he  was  fully  aware.  This  grasp  of  the 
hand  and  the  heartfelt  thankfulness  of  the  Prefect  showed 
more  than  anything  else  the  extreme  risk  I had  rim,  from  the 
plottings  of  the  mandarin  Chen  and  his  servant  Mr  Tien  of 
the  ferry  town. 

The  Prefect  asked  me  whether  I had  not  felt  afraid  among 
the  hillmen.  I assured  him  that  the  wildmen  w'ere  such 
gentlemen  that  I had  felt  at  home  with  them  all  the  time. 
He  looked  puzzled,  and  wondered  whether  my  long  stay  in 
China  had  not  taught  me  to  hide  the  truth  as  adroitly  as 
the  Chinese.  It  used  to  be  amusing,  years  gone  by,  to  watch 
how  some  Chinese  would  receive  some  of  the  stories  you  told 
them  about  life  in  foreign  countries.  They  would  readily 
believe  some  preposterous  yarns  which  ivere  current  every- 
where, but  tell  them  the  story  of  the  underground  railway  in 
London,  and  now  and  again  a smile  would  break  out  on  some 
face  as  if  the  hearer  were  coming  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
foreign  story-teller  knew  how  to  tell  lies  as  wxll  as  he  could 
do  it  himself. 


UP  THE  HILLS  AND  HOME  AGAIN  297 


My  wife  very  much  enjoyed  the  story  of  the  little  girl 
with  the  coral  beads,  and  1 told  her  that  Vri-ha,  who  had 
been  so  keen  on  the  match,  was  coming  across  soon  to  see  us. 
Not  long  after,  he  and  several  others  came.  After  the  first 
greetings  were  over  I went  and  fetched  the  lady  of  the  house, 
and  was  very  curious  to  see  how  she  would  greet  the  man 
who  had  tried  so  hard  to  introduce  a rival  into  her  home 
One  of  the  most  delightful  things  about  a good  woman  is  that 
you  are  never  sure  just  what  she  is  going  to  do.  There  is 
an  element  of  uncertainty  and  surprise  about  her  actions. 
This  lady  went  up  to  Vri-ha,  greeted  him  with  her  sweetest, 
most  friendly  smile,  and  assured  him  he  was  very  welcome  as 
a guest  in  her  home.  I rather  fancy  she  treated  the  whole 
episode  as  if  in  some  way  it  were  a compliment  to  herself  in 
having  found  a husband  whom  the  hillmen  had  taken  to  and 
treated  so  chivalrously.  I am  not  sure  about  this.  But 
there  ! Who  is  ever  sure  about  anything  that  has  to  do  with 
a real  woman  ? You  may  lift  the  veil  off  Nosuland,  you  may 
find  out  all  the  secrets  of  those  wonderful  hills  and  brave 
people,  but  the  veil  over  the  still  more  wonderful  heart  of  a 
good  woman  is  only  half  lifted,  and  no  adventurous  traveller 
has  ever  explored  all  the  secrets  that  lie  hidden  there. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 


QUERY  ? china’s  HIDDEN  MENACE 

TWO  or  thi’ec  years  ago  1 had  the  privilege  of  spending 
a rainy  week  in  a small  room  in  an  aboriginal  village, 
the  eireumstances  were  mmsual  in  that  I had  another 
Englishman  as  eompanion.  It  is  not  often  that  sueh  is  the 
case.  One  usually  travels  about  among  these  hills  with  only 
native  companions,  ^^^len  one  does  have  another  European 
with  him  conversation  usually  goes  at  a great  rate  and  all 
things  under  the  sun  are  discussed.  This  week  we  two 
Britishers  spent  in  that  little  room,  unable  to  get  out  any- 
where, we  had  long  discussions  on  the  problems  facing  China. 
Both  of  us  are  friends  of  this  great  people,  and  anxious  tliat 
she  shall  prosper  in  all  right  ways.  iNIy  friend  is  a journalist, 
and  was  travelling  across  China,  anxious  to  see  all  that  was 
to  be  seen  and  learnt.  Unlike  many  others,  he  did  not  confine 
his  travels  to  the  beaten  paths,  but  went  into  all  kinds  of  out- 
of-the-way  places  where  no  Europeans  except  missionaries 
had  been  before.  He  was  keen  on  the  aboriginal  question, 
and  came  to  the  conclusion  that  in  the  aboriginals  of  West 
China  there  was,  all-patent  to  him,  “ China’s  Hidden  Menace.” 
We  spent  hours  over  this  question.  Some  time  after,  in  one 
of  the  Shanghai  papers  there  appeared,  MTitten  by  the  friend 
who  had  shared  wet  and  cold  and  mud  galore  with  me,  an 
informing  article  under  the  above  title.  The  MTiter  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  unless  China  adopted  a strong  policy  she 
might  find  herself  strongly  menaced  by  the  aboriginals  in  these 

298 


QUERY?  CHINA’S  HIDDEN  MENACE  209 

western  provinces  of  China.  At  the  end  of  his  article  the 
writer  made  the  suggestion  that  when  the  troubles  ol  the 
Revolution  were  over  employment  might  be  found  for  the 
troops  of  General  Li,  who  has  since  become  Vice-President, 
in  redueing  the  tribes  to  such  a state  tluit  they  would  never 
be  able  successfully  to  menace  China.  One  is  glad  to  thinly 
that  there  is  no  statesman  at  the  present  likely  to  adopt  the 
att itude  suggested  by  this  Western  adviee.  !\Iy  advice  to  the 
Chinese  Government  would  be  of  an  entirely  opposite  nature. 
In  these  brave  hillnien  the  Chinese  have  material  for  one  of 
the  finest  armies  it  would  be  possible  to  find  in  all  Asia. 
Flouted  and  badly  treated,  these  people  might  prove  them- 
selves more  than  a menace.  It  is  true  that  there  are  forces 
in  China  which  are  dark,  and  just  how  they  w ill  sliape  and 
move  no  one  can  tell  with  certainty.  For  instanec,  in  the 
year  of  the  Boxer  rising,  which  meant  so  much  to  the  world, 
and  among  other  results  led  to  the  overtlu’ow'  of  the  Manehu 
dynasty,  nearly  all  foreigners  in  the  interior  of  China  were 
ordered  by  their  eonsuls  to  withdraw'  to  the  coast.  Just  the 
night  before  the  Cluiotung  party  left  tliat  city  a military 
mandarin  called  on  me.  He  chatted  aw'ay  and  sent  his 
servant  home  again,  with  instructions  to  call  for  him  later 
on.  By-and-by,  when  w e were  quite  alone  in  my  sitting-room, 
this  official  confided  to  me  a dee])  secret.  It  was  to  the  effect 
that  if  either  the  English  or  the  French  invaded  Yimnan  the 
jMohammedans  in  a certain  direction  were  ready  to  join  the 
invaders  at  the  proper  moment,  and  this  official  wished  me  to 
make  arrangements  for  this  plan  to  be  carried  out.  Needless 
to  say,  I liad  nothing  to  do  w ith  the  affair,  and  as  the  principal 
in  the  matter  has  been  dead  for  years  it  does  not  matter 
mentioning  it.  One  who  has  enjoyed  the  hospitality  of  China 


300  QUERY?  CHINA’S  HIDDEN  MENACE 

for  so  many  years  would  be  a renegade  if  he  worked  against 
the  country  where  he  has  lived  so  long.  This  incident,  how- 
ever, shows  that  China  has  in  her  mixed  peoples  problems 
to  solve  whieh  will  tax  her  best  statesmanship. 

Though  the  Republic  of  China  is,  at  the  time  of  writing,  in 
its  early  stages,  already  it  has  been  made  clear  that  among 
the  most  diffieult  problems  facing  the  Central  Government 
are  the  questions  touching  the  dependencies.  The  Mongolian 
question  has  not  yet  been  solved,  and  it  will  most  certainly 
sooner  or  later  lead  to  war  between  Russia  and  China,  in 
which  Japan  will  most  likely  be  involved  also.  ^Mien  China 
gets  strong  enough,  or  when  Russia  is  convinced  that  she  must 
force  the  pace,  the  crisis  will  certainly  eome  to  a head. 

The  question  of  Manchuria  is  still  more  pressing.  The 
population  of  those  “ Three  Eastern  Provinces,”  as  Manchuria 
is  known  to  the  Chinese,  far  outnumbers  now  the  descendants 
of  the  old  tribes  which,  under  the  leadership  of  Nurachi  and 
Dorgum,  made  such  a mark  on  the  history  of  China,  and  ruled 
with  such  success  over  one  of  the  greatest  empires  of  the 
world.  Into  the  midst  of  the  Chinese  population  of  these 
three  provinces  there  has  come  a large  immigration  of 
Russians  and  Japanese,  and  this  has  complicated  a problem 
never  easy  of  solution.  In  Manchuria  alone  there  are  prob- 
lems which  will  give  trouble  to  statesmen  for  many  years 
to  come. 

The  world  has  also  seen  what  a tremendous  struggle  China 
has  had  in  Tibet,  and  at  present  it  looks  as  if  she  will  retain 
only  a nominal  hold  over  tliat  vast  upper-world  region.  The 
immense  expenditure  of  men  and  money  which  at  first,  under 
General  Chao,  gave  the  Chinese  victory  over  practically  the 
whole  of  Tibet,  and  brought  Chinese  soldiers  right  to  the 


QUERY?  CHINA’S  HIDDEN  MENACE  301 

gate  of  India,  seems  now  to  have  been  in  vain.  In  Eastern 
Tibet,  where  the  Chinese  soldiers  were  all-powerful,  the 
Tibetans  have  driven  them  out,  and  guard  jealously  and 
very  successfully  the  outer  gates  to  their  upland  homes. 

There  has  been  a fear  all  along  lest  the  Nosu  and  other 
tribes  should  join  hands  with  the  Tibetans  and  oust  China 
from  a large  part  of  the  great  province  of  Szechuan,  the 
premier  province  of  the  whole  country.  Some  of  the  more 
ardent  of  the  younger  officers  have  advocated  expeditions 
into  Nosuland,  but  the  older  and  \viser  ones,  who  have  seen 
what  has  been  the  result  of  the  late  fighting  with  the 
Tibetans  in  a country  something  like  Nosuland,  are  by  no 
means  anxious  to  embark  on  such  hazardous  adventures. 

A far  wiser  plan  would  be  to  win  the  confidence  of  these 
hill  people,  and  to  engage  their  restless  spirits  on  the  side  of 
the  Chinese  Government.  The  Chinese  amiy,  as  seen  in  its 
new  developments  in  Western  China,  is  essentially  weak  in 
cavalry.  Southern  Chinese  do  not  readily  take  to  horse- 
riding.  The  fact  that  a very  large  part  of  the  land  in  South 
China  is  given  over  to  the  swampy  cultivation  of  rice  may 
account  for  the  fact  that  there  has  been  no  special  attempt  to 
cultivate  a mounted  arm  to  the  armies  in  the  south.  Yet  in 
former  years  cavalry  has  played  an  important  part  in  the 
military'  history  of  China.  It  was  practically  one  great 
cavalry  charge  which  gave  the  Empire  to  the  Manchus. 
This  one  historic  cavalry  charge  gave  the  leader  of  an  almost 
unknown  tribe  the  rulership  of  one  of  the  greatest,  if  not  the 
greatest,  empires  the  world  has  ever  seen.  No  one  need 
take  exception  to  this  statement,  for  in  a very  real  sense  the 
Manchu  dominions  formed  an  empire  very  different  to  the 
immense  British  Empire.  The  latter  is  really  an  alliance  of 


302  QUERY?  CHINA’S  HIDDEN  MENACE 

different  races  and  different  countries  owning  a nominal 
allegiance  to  the  central  ruler.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Manchu 
Emperor  really  ruled  over  an  enormous  number  of  people 
holding  similar  customs,  language,  literature  and  religion. 
China  has  been  and  is  unique  in  this. 

The  historic  cavalry  charge  referred  to  is  too  little  known 
by  Europeans.  The  fate  of  the  W'hole  Empire  was  in  the 
balance  at  the  hardly  contested  battle  fought  at  Shan  Hai 
Kwan,  w'here  the  Great  Wall  ends  at  the  sea.  It  was  the 
tremendous  charge  of  ten  thousand  Manchu  horsemen 
across  the  plain  which  gave  the  victory  to  General  Wu  San- 
kwei  and  annihilated  his  enemies.  The  capture  of  Peking 
immediately  followed,  and  then  came  the  seating  of  the 
chieftain  of  an  obscure  tribe  on  the  Dragon  Throne.  This 
was  the  beginning  of  more  than  two  centuries  of  Manchu  rule, 
in  the  early  days  of  wliich  the  exploits  of  the  cavalry  helped 
to  make  the  throne  secure.  What  cavalry  has  done  once 
it  can  do  again  in  a land  like  China. 

In  these  Nosu  hillmen  China  has  the  material  for  some  of 
the  finest  cavalry  that  exists  in  all  Southern  Asia.  These 
men  are  born  horsemen.  They  love  the  open  air.  Fighting 
is  in  their  very  bones,  and  they  w^ould  be  willing,  if  China 
treated  them  courteously,  and  on  a footing  of  equality,  to 
serve  their  overlords  with  loyalty.  Instead  of  referring  to 
these  men  as  the  “ Hidden  Menace  of  China,”  who  must 
sooner  or  later  be  ruthlessly  put  down,  I w’ould  rather  say 
that  in  the  millions  of  West  China  aboriginals  China  has 
hidden  treasures  w'hich,  if  rightly  used,  might  save  her  in  her 
hour  of  dire  need.  I have  noticed  how  some  of  the  Nosu 
bands  annihilated  an  aimy  of  the  Taipings  that  w^as  de- 
vastating West  China.  These  men  are  capable  of  doing  such 


QUERY?  CHINA’S  HIDDEN  ^MENACE  303 

a feat  again.  If  in  further  expeditions  to  Tibet,  instead  of 
using  soft  Szechuan  soldiers,  wlio  cannot  fight  except  on 
steamed  rice  and  ordinary  Chinese  civilised  food,  of  which 
Tibet  produces  none,  a few  thousand  of  these  hardy  hillmen, 
who  can  live  on  the  coarsest  food,  were  trained  and  generously 
led.  there  might  be  a hope  that  Tibet  would  be  no  longer  a 
sealed  country  given  over  to  the  blighting  influences  of  a 
celibate  but  not  pure  Lamaism,  but  would  be  opened  to 
Chinese  civilisation,  which  is  one  of  the  finest  civilisations 
the  world  has  ever  known.  Speaking  as  a missionary,  one 
wishes  that  would  happen  ; for  then  there  would  be  a 
chance  of  carrying  the  teachings  of  the  Saviour  of  the  World 
to  the  highest  parts  of  the  continent  where  lie  lived  and  died. 
With  the  Anglo-Indian  policy  which  has  ruled  up  till  now  in 
the  permanent  ascendency,  there  is  no  hope  of  the  opening 
up  of  Tibet.  Tlie  people  must  for  ever  remain  in  the  ignor- 
ance of  Lamaism  and  celibacy  and  polyandry,  so  that  Russia 
and  China  may  be  kept  from  advancing  a step  nearer  to  India  ! 
The  exigencies  of  British  foreign  policy  condemn  for  ever 
people  who  need  the  light  and  help  of  true  education  and 
religion  ! Darkness  must  continue  to  rule  the  Roof  of  the 
World  that  there  may  be  no  scares  in  India  ! 

The  idea  of  using  these  Nosu  hillmen  in  the  service  of  the 
Central  Government  occurred  at  least  to  one  master  mind. 
H.  E.  Chao,  whose  conquering  of  rebellious  Tibet  startled 
and  very  much  woke  up  the  Government  of  India,  was  one 
of  the  strongest  partisans  of  the  late  Manchu  dynasty.  He 
fought  very  hard  to  suppress  the  provincial  rising  in  Szechuan, 
which,  while  nominally  concerned  w'ith  the  railway  policy 
of  the  country,  was  really  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution 
which  has  overthrown!  so  much.  It  seemed  at  one  time  as  if 


304  QUERY  ? CHINA’S  HIDDEN  MENACE 

he  would  succeed  in  his  struggle.  News  from  other  provinces 
concerning  the  success  of  the  new  movement  weakened  his 
stand,  and  made  his  men  wish  to  turn  to  the  popular  party. 
He  then  turned  to  the  hill  tribes  of  Nosuland  and  tried  to 
persuade  them  to  ally  themselves  with  him  and  make  a 
descent  in  his  favour  on  the  rich  plains  of  Szechuan.  This 
policy  of  the  Manchu  partisan  exasperated  the  people,  and 
all  through  the  province  there  were  cries  for  his  head.  He 
was  at  last  captured  and  put  to  death,  one  of  the  greatest 
blunders  of  the  revolutionary  party.  With  the  death  of  the 
great  general  his  scheme  of  enlisting  the  Nosu  tribes  fell 
through.  What  has  occurred  to  one  will  occur  to  another, 
and  we  may  yet  see  the  Nosu  hillmen  taking  a prominent 
part  in  the  movements  of  the  Central  Government  of 
China. 

Once  before  there  was  an  attempt  to  enlist  the  aid  of  the 
aboriginals  on  the  side  of  a sorely  pressed  government. 
Wlien  Japan  was  winning  her  victories  by  sea  and  land  against 
the  untrained  troops  of  China,  it  occurred  to  some  mandarin 
with  more  imagination  than  sense  that  the  Miao  tribes,  with 
their  deadly  bows  and  arrows,  might  come  to  the  rescue  of  the 
defeated  armies.  Li  Hung-chang  thereupon  sent  west  for 
detachments  of  aboriginal  troops.  A large  number  of  these 
were  persuaded  to  enlist,  and  departed  for  the  coast.  I do 
not  know  what  were  the  inducements  held  out  to  them,  but 
I was  told  that  they  went,  relying  on  the  virtues  of  their 
aboriginal  weapons,  which  had  helped  them  in  their  local 
fights  against  men  and  wild  beasts.  It  is  hoped  that  they 
never  met  the  trained  Japanese  soldiers,  for  in  that  case  they 
would  have  been  totally  destroyed. 

A number  of  these  Miao  were  also  engaged  by  the  revolu- 


QUERY  ? CHINA’S  HIDDEN  MENACE  305 

tionary  Government  in  1911  to  help  in  the  struggle  Avith  the 
Manchus. 

To  some  far-seeing  statesmen,  and  CJiina  has  many  such  in 
her  land,  these  Nosu  do  not  constitute  a hidden  menace  but 
rather  a reserve  to  fall  back  on  in  hour  of  need.  If  China  is 
to  get  the  best  help  from  these  great  tribes,  then  there  must 
be  a change  in  the  attitude  which  many  of  the  educated  classes 
adopt  towards  those  who  are  not  properly  entitled  to  call 
themselves  Sons  of  Han.  A few  incidents  which  I have 
seen  of  China’s  treatment  of  those  Nosu  will  illustrate  how 
the  Chinese  should  not  conduct  themselves  towards  the  brave 
Nosu  of  the  hill  lands. 


u 


CHAPTER  XXX 


THE  CANDID  GENERAL  AND  THE  CONCEITED  ARTIST 
^TER  my  return  from  Nosuland,  tribesmen  from 


that  unknown  part  of  China  frequently  came 


across  the  river  to  see  Nhe-jah-jah  at  Chaotung. 
To  some  of  them  the  journey  and  experiences  were  just  as 
remarkable  as  mine  had  been  into  the  heart  of  their  hospit- 
able land.  These  visitors  were  always  welcome,  and  seemed 
to  look  upon  our  home  as  a part  of  their  own  land.  They 
treated  me  as  a member  of  the  clans,  and  as  such  sought  my 
help  more  than  once. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  cases  in  which  I was  able  to 
render  help  to  the  men  of  the  hills,  and  at  the  same  time 
do  a kindness  to  the  people  of  Chaotung,  is  the  following. 

One  evening,  after  all  the  work  in  our  busy  mission  com- 
pound was  over,  a Nosu  from  across  the  Yangtse  came  into 
my  little  study  to  talk  about  a very  important  matter. 
Some  distance  south  of  the  part  of  Nosuland  I had  visited 
the  province  of  Yunnan  stretches  across  the  river  and  the 
Yangtse  is  no  longer  the  boundary  line.  The  hill-people  of 
Nosuland  can,  therefore,  easily  cross  into  China  proper,  and, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  Chinese  land  workers  can  easily 
encroach  on  the  territory  of  the  tribes.  It  seems  to  be  the 
eternal  lot  of  the  Chinese  to  be  pushing  somebody  farther 
back,  whether  in  West  China,  in  the  Malay  States,  in  Mon- 
golia, in  Tibetan  borderland,  or  in  a score  of  other  places. 
The  eternal  struggle  which  these  four  hundred  millions  have 


306 


THE  CANDID  GENERAL  307 

witli  the  wolf  at  the  door  is  largely  the  cause  of  this  constant 
pushing  back. 

One  of  the  most  important  Black  Bloods  in  the  district 
we  are*  referring  to  was  a chief  named  Luh.  Tlie  Chinese 
official  in  charge  of  that  district  acted  as  many  of  these 
border  officials  act,  and  at  last  he  drove  Luh  out  of  his  home 
and  confiscated  all  his  lands.  If  you  have  soldiers  at  your 
command,  it  is  comparatively  easy  to  make  a start  in  this 
fashion,  but  usually  the  Chinese  have  to  pay  a very  heavy 
price  for  a policy  of  this  kind.  The  hillmen  do  not  readily 
forgive  such  actions,  and  having  in  the  past  known  what  it  was 
to  defeat  Chinese,  Chief  Lull  and  his  men  determined  to  have 
their  own  back  again.  The  Chinese  garrison  at  Pci-sha  was 
attacked  and  overwhelmed.  Then  frantic  messages  were 
sent  to  the  Viceroy  at  Yunnan  Fn,  who  promptly  ordered 
soldiers  to  proceed  to  the  scene  of  the  trouble  and  exterminate 
Luh  and  his  party.  Orders  like  this  were  easily  given  in 
those  days,  but  not  so  easily  earried  out,  for  most  of  the 
soldiers  in  the  various  camps  were  on  paper  only.  A garrison 
that  actually  possessed  thirty  per  cent,  of  its  nominal  roll 
of  men  was  in  a healthy  condition.  Those  were  the  days 
before  the  great  Manchu  Viceroy  Hsi-liang,  altered  all  that. 
\Mien  he  came  into  the  province  of  Yunnan  he  sent  men 
secretly  to  see  the  actual  state  of  the  various  garrisons. 
These  brought  back  their  reports.  On  the  strength  of  these 
reports,  several  military  officials  were  summoned  to  the 
city  where  the  Viceroy  had  his  residence.  They  went,  not 
suspecting  what  was  in  store  for  them.  A few'  days  after 
their  arrival,  to  the  surprise  of  the  whole  city,  and  even  more 
to  the  officials,  one  or  tw  o of  these  military  men,  whose  paper 
soldiers  were  more  than  usually  numerous,  were  publicly 


308 


THE  CANDID  GENERAL 


beheaded.  A great  shock  went  through  the  province,  and 
recruiting  was  very  brisk  for  the  next  few  months.  Those 
military  heads  taken  off  made  a surprising  difference  to  the 
actual  strength  of  the  Chinese  forces  in  the  Far  West. 

The  trouble  with  Chief  Luh  was  before  the  stern  regime 
of  the  Viceroy  Hsi-liang,  and  so  it  was  with  some  difficulty 
that  the  forces  necessary  for  the  putting  down  of  the  Nosu 
fighters  were  obtained. 

Soldiers  began  to  concentrate  on  Pei-sha,  but  in  the 
preliminary  skirmishes  the  fortunes  of  war  went  against 
the  Chinese.  Still  further  frantic  reports  were  sent  to  the 
Viceroy.  Two  generals  and  a large  number  of  soldiers  were 
ordered  to  the  scene  of  the  trouble.  All  the  north  of  Yunnan 
was  excited.  At  Chaotung  hundreds  of  raw  fellows  were 
persuaded  to  join  the  colours,  and  soon  there  were  large 
bands  of  troops  moving  down  towards  the  Yangtse.  Things, 
however,  progi’essed  slowly.  The  hillmen  were  in  earnest. 
The  Chinese  troops  were  untrained.  All  the  south  of  Nosu- 
land  began  to  wake  up,  and  the  war  tocsin  was  sounded  far 
and  wide. 

It  was  at  this  time  tliat  the  Nosu  came  to  my  study  at 
night.  He  brought  a very  roundabout  message  from  Chief 
Luh  to  Nhe-jah-jah,  asking  if  I could  help  to  make  peace 
and  get  the  stolen  lands  restored.  He  promised  tliat  if  the 
Chinese  would  only  give  back  his  lands  he  would  withdraw 
his  forces  and  make  no  further  trouble  He  said  that  the 
Chinese  officials  were  so  treacherous  that  he  was  afraid  to 
deal  with  them,  but  expressed  perfect  confidence  in  my  being 
able  to  bring  about  peace  if  I only  tried.  I promised  to  do 
all  I could,  and  advised  the  messenger  to  tell  Luh  to  keep  his 
forces  back  for  a while,  until  he  should  see  if  the  English 


309 


AND  THE  CONCEITED  ARTIST 

friend  of  the  Nosu  could  do  anything  in  the  matter.  1 called 
on  the  general  in  charge  of  tlic  garrison  at  Chaotung  and 
told  him  all  my  story,  lie  wanted  to  see  the  messenger  Irom 
Nosuland,  but  1 liad  waited  until  he  was  safely  away  before 
I approached  the  general.  General  Chao  was  very  kind  and 
})romised  to  report  the  matter  to  the  Viceroy,  which  he 
duly  did.  So  that  1 might  keep  (piitc  scpiare  in  the  matter, 
I wrote  to  the  British  Consul-General  at  Yunnan  Fu,  telling 
him  all  that  was  happening  and  asking  his  kind  assistance 
in  the  affair.  Sir  \\\  11.  Wilkinson  readily  promised  his 
assistance,  and  to  his  kind,  entirely  unofficial  representations 
the  Nosu  and  Chinese  owed  much.  A new  general  was  on 
the  point  of  leaving  Yunnan  Fu  for  Chaotung,  and  before 
he  left  he  had  an  interview  with  the  Consul-General.  When 
he  came  to  Chaotung  he  seemed  willing  to  use  the  English 
missionary  to  further  his  ends  if  possible.  The  Viceroy 
authorised  the  new  general  to  send  word  to  Chief  Luh  that 
if  he  kept  the  peace  for  one  year  he  should  have  one-third 
of  his  lands  restored  ; if  for  two  years,  then  two-thirds ; and 
if  for  three  years,  then  the  whole  of  his  lands  should  be 
returned  to  him. 

Early  in  October  this  General  Su  called  on  me,  and  we  had 
a delightful  talk  about  the  Nosu.  Tlae  general  was  most 
candid,  and  told  me  that  he  and  others  depended  on  troubles 
such  as  this  for  promotion,  and  that  if  peace  w^ere  made 
quickly  there  was  no  likelihood  of  the  colour  of  the  button 
on  his  official  hat  being  changed  for  that  of  a higher  rank. 
Just  before  he  came  in  to  see  me,  a widow  woman  had  called 
on  me.  Her  son  had  joined,  and  was  just  off  to  Pei-sha 
to  fight  the  warlike  Nosu.  He  was  an  only  son,  and  the 
widow  begged  me  to  help  her  in  getting  him  off,  as  she 


SIO 


THE  CANDH)  GENERAL 


did  not  want  to  run  the  risk  of  being  left  alone  in  the  world. 
Remembering  the  widow,  1 begged  General  Su  for  once  not 
to  trouble  about  the  colour  of  his  hat’s  button  but  to  think 
of  the  inner  feelings  of  pity  which  existed  in  his  heart.  The 
next  day  I returned  the  general’s  visit  and  formd  him  and 
another  general  sitting  together.  We  all  three  yarned  up 
in  the  guest-hall  about  the  fighting.  These  military  men 
wanted  a good  fight  and  a great  victory.  The  missionary 
wanted  to  stop  the  war.  Very  likely  these  two  men  of  war 
smiled  at  my  pleadings.  They  asked  me  to  persuade  Chief 
Luh  to  come  to  Chaotung  and  confer  with  them,  promising 
to  give  him  a safe  conduct.  It  looked  as  if  I were  getting 
my  way  in  winning  the  sympathy  of  these  two  men. 

Then,  with  a sudden  change.  General  Su  switched  the 
conversation  on  to  an  entirely  different  line  by  asking  me  an 
altogether  unexpected  question.  He  said  he  had  read  the 
Gospel  of  St  John,  and  had  noticed  in  it  the  story  of  the  man 
blind  from  birth,  about  whom  Jesus  said  that  “ neither  had 
this  man  sinned  nor  his  parents.”  General  Su  said  : “ We 
believe  that  punishment  follows  sin.  If  this  man  had  not 
sinned,  why  had  not  Jesus  prevented  him  from  being  born 
blind  ? ” So  we  got  away  from  the  Nosu  troubles,  into  a 
question  that  has  puzzled  thinking  men  from  the  time  of 
Job  until  now. 

By  the  easy  way  in  which  the  secrets  of  Chinese  yamcns 
leak  out,  it  came  to  my  knowledge  that  the  trouble  at  Pei-sha 
had  been  reported  to  Peking,  and  tliat  orders  had  come  from 
the  Central  Government  that  Luh  was  to  be  executed  if 
caught.  Practically  at  the  same  time  as  he  was  talking  so 
pleasantly  with  me,  about  the  problem  of  trouble  and  pain. 
General  Su  was  giving  instructions  that  if  Luh  came  to 


AND  THE  CONCEITED  ARTIST  311 


Chaotung  in  his  absence  he  was  to  be  dispatched  at  once. 
Lull  had  sent  word  that  he  was  quite  ready  to  come,  if  1 
would  go  surety  for  him.  I took  good  care  that  he  did  not 
come. 

The  forces  at  Pei-sha  made  little  headway  against  the 
Nosu,  and  when  the  latter,  adopting  the  adviee  sent  from 
Chaotung,  withdrew  for  a while,  negotiations  were  opened 
on  the  spot,  and  at  last  an  agreement  was  come  to  which 
rendered  further  fighting  unnecessaiy.  Tlie  soldiers  re- 
turned. The  widow’s  son  got  safely  home.  The  orders  from 
Peking  were  not  carried  out.  You  can’t  kill  your  hare  unless 
you  first  catch  him.  General  Su  was  still  friendly,  but  1 
did  not  hear  that  he  got  a change  of  button.  We  chatted 
together  as  before,  but  I never  told  him  that  someone  liad 
shown  me  a copy  of  his  orders  for  the  exeeution  of  Chief  Luh, 
had  he  come  across  to  Chaotung,  believing  the  assurances 
that  liad  been  given  to  the  foreigner  concerning  the  safety 
of  his  life.  The  Chinese  will  never  win  these  hill  Nosu  to  their 
side  until  their  local  officials  carry  out  in  a generous  manner 
the  great,  broad  policy  of  equal  treatment  and  toleration, 
which  has  been  the  aim  of  some  of  the  best  statesmen  of  this 
great  country.  Had  Chief  Luh  carried  out  his  intentions, 
and  come  to  Chaotung,  trusting  to  the^help  of  Nhe-jah-jali, 
there  would  have  been  a tragedy,  and  I should  never  have 
cared  to  approach  the  friends  of  Nosuland  again. 

Since  wTiting  the  first  part  of  this  chapter  I have,  by  the 
kindness  of  the  present  British  Consul-General  at  Yminan 
Fu,  received  a copy  of  an  illustrated  pamphlet,  written  by 
one  of  the  professors  in  a Government  sehool  of  that  city. 
The  title  of  the  pamphlet  is  Illustiated  Records  of  the 
Aboriginals  of  Yunnan.  Tlie  price  is  half-a-dollar,  Tliere 


312 


THE  CANDID  GENERAL 


are  a few  pages  devoted  to  a description  of  some  of  the 
strange  customs  of  the  tribes,  and  then  there  are  thirty-four 
pictures  of  people  from  as  many  tribes.  Tlie  pictures  are 
gross  caricatures,  some  of  them  being  simply  horrible. 
The  Chinese  ideographs  used,  in  giving  the  names  of  these 
tribes-])eople,  have  the  “ dog  ” radical  prefixed  to  them, 
showing  that  the  author  of  the  pamplilet  still  follows  the 
objectionable  method  of  referring  to  these  races,  who  have 
persisted  through  so  many  centuries,  in  spite  of  the  pressure 
brought  to  bear  on  them  by  the  ever-advancing  Chinese. 
The  first  page  of  the  book  has  a photo  of  the  author,  which 
is  very  different  from  the  pictures  supposed  to  represent 
the  various  tribes-men.  Yet  I will  guarantee  that  there  are 
many  men  in  these  tribes  who  are  purer  in  thought,  more 
graceful  in  disposition  and  infinitely  kinder  than  many  of 
those  who  sit  in  judgment  on  them. 

So  long  as  the  attitude  of  the  local  Chinese  towards  these 
hillmen  is  that  of  the  writer  of  this  pamplilet,  there  will 
always  be  strained  feelings  between  the  Chinese  and  these 
aboriginal  races. 

It  is  interesting,  however,  to  see  that  an  educated  Chinaman 
has  thought  the  tribesmen  of  Yunnan  worth  writing  about, 
and  while  this  first  attempt  evidently  springs  from  an  idea 
that  the  aboriginals  are  strange  and  bizarre,  and  worth 
holding  up  to  ridicule  and  wonder,  later  on  others  will  find 
that  their  customs  and  history  are  well  worth  studying. 
When  that  time  comes  we  may  get  the  book  which  is  so 
badly  needed. 

One  or  two  things  in  this  new  book  are  interesting.  Tlie 
first  story  told  refers  to  a custom  of  the  Nosu  in  the  west  of 
Yunnan,  who,  when  there  is  pestilence  about,  call  in  the  aid 


AND  THE  CONCEITED  ARTIST  3lS 


of  the  wiziirds.  The  wizards  proceed  to  deal  with  tlic  trouble 
as  follows.  A lucky  day  is  first  chosen.  When  that  arrives, 
two  long  poles  are  placed  on  the  ground,  and  a ladder  of 
swords  is  made  by  tying  thirty-six  swords  crosswise  to  these 
poles.  The  village  folk,  by  means  of  ropes,  pull  this  ladder 
of  swords  upright.  The  wizard  then  seizes  a fowl,  goes 
through  his  incantations,  and  then,  with  naked  feet,  walks 
up  the  ladder,  treading  on  the  edges  of  the  blades  as  he  goes. 
The  fowl  is  let  off  from  the  top  of  the  ladder,  and  it  is 
unlucky  for  anyone  with  whom  it  comes  in  contact  as  it 
is  falling  down.  Tlie  wizard  then  returns  down  the  ladder, 
still  walking  the  swords.  He  further  shows  his  power  by 
dancing  on  red-hot  ploughshares. 

This  sw'ord-ladder  business  is  part  of  the  magical  stock  in 
trade  of  some  Taoists  in  other  parts  of  China.  It  would  be 
a surprise  if  it  were  discovered  that  the  origin  of  many  of  the 
magical  arts  of  the  Taoists  was  among  the  Nosu  of  West 
China. 

The  second  story  is  interesting,  as  it  agrees  with  a story 
told  me  by  a Black  Blood  Nosu  while  we  were  at  Mr  Long’s, 
waiting  to  cross  over  into  Nosuland.  The  story  describes 
how  the  Nosu  punish  thieves  by  burning  them  alive.  The 
Black  Blood  at  Mr  Long’s  told  us  that  at  his  village  a slave, 
after  the  death  of  his  master,  tinned  robber.  One  night  he 
set  fire  to  a house,  and  was  caught  red-handed.  His  arms 
and  legs  were  broken  immediately,  so  that  he  could  not 
escape.  Then  it  was  decided  to  burn  him  publicly.  It  was 
at  first  proposed  to  burn  him  on  the  public  road,  but  then 
there  was  a fear  that  his  spirit  might  haunt  those  who  used 
the  road.  So  it  was  finally  agreed  to  burn  him  at  the  grave 
of  his  grandparent.  Thiee  hundred  families  joined  in  the 


314 


THE  CANDID  GENERAL 


burning,  each  bringing  a quota  of  firewood.  The  robber  was 
first  given  a good  meal  of  rice  and  wine,  and  then  he  was 
placed  on  the  top  of  the  fire.  He  was  kept  in  position  by 
means  of  spear  and  trident.  In  half-an-hour  the  robber 
was  consumed,  and  a grave  was  built  up  over  the  ashes. 
There  was  a lot  of  trouble  before  this  affair  was  settled, 
and  the  man  w'ho  told  me  the  story,  the  chief  mover  in  the 
burning,  had  to  pay  up  well  before  the  relatives  of  the  burnt 
man  let  the  matter  drop.  I have  been  shown  places  where 
thieves  have  been  lynched  in  this  summary  manner. 

One  can  easily  see  how  the  strangeness  of  the  customs  of 
the  aboriginals  has  aroused  the  curiosity  of  the  Chinese, 
and  in  many  cases  brought  on  their  ridicule.  If  the  Chinese 
would  only  study  the  best  side  of  the  tribes-folk  they  might 
be  willing  to  appreciate  these  people  and  to  draw  them  into 
the  common  band  of  patriotic  members  of  this  great  country. 
The  strong  spirit  which  moves  the  Nosu  and  other  tribes  of 
West  China  would  be  a valuable  addition  to  the  life  of  China. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 


A WREATH  OF  STONES  AROUND  CORAL  BEADS 

The  ambitious  schemes  of  Vri-Iia  and  his  friendshaving 
fallen  through  it  was  necessary  to  make  some  other 
arrangements  for  the  little  girl  who  had  sat  alone 
around  the  fire  in  that  cu'clc  of  sixteen  men.  Among  both 
Chinese  and  aboriginals  it  is  the  rule  that  all  marry.  Old 
maids  arc  unknown.  There  are  a few  cases  where  daughters 
refuse  to  marry  so  that  they  may  wait  on  their  parents  in 
their  old  age.  This  is  only  done,  however,  in  cases  where 
there  are  no  sons  and  consequently  no  daughters-in-law. 
A daughter  who  in  such  a case  refuses  to  marry  wins  the 
respect  and  even  honour  of  all  people  and  her  case  is  some- 
times reported  to  the  throne  as  worthy  of  due  reward.  There 
are  also  the  priestesses  and  mms,  who  are  spinsters,  but  these 
are  but  a small  fraction  of  the  whole  population.  A husband 
for  every  woman  and  a wife  for  every  man  is  the  rule  of  the 
land.  Adam  needs  Eve,  and  vice  versa.  The  Orient  does  not 
break  the  rule  of  the  Garden  of  Eden.  The  social  arrange- 
ment made  at  the  beginning  of  race  by  the  highest  authority 
remains  true  in  the  Orient  to  this  day. 

Vri-ha’s  little  sister  was,  after  a while,  betrothed  to  a Black 
Blood  living  not  far  from  the  home  of  the  friendly  widow. 
I remember  it  as  a house  where  the  rows  of  charms  to  keep  off 
the  demons  were  more  than  usually  numerous.  Later  on  it 
was  seen  that  these  charms  were  unable  to  save  little  Coral 
Beads  in  the  hour  when  she  had  to  face  her  great  trial. 

315 


316 


A WREATH  OF  STONES 


This  marriage,  like  all  marriages  in  the  Orient,  was  eon- 
traeted  with  the  aid  of  a go-between.  Tlie  Nosu  have  an 
interesting  custom  in  relation  to  these  go-betweens.  When 
the  day  of  the  marriage  comes  round  the  go-between  goes 
to  the  bride’s  home  to  announce  the  date  and  to  see  that  the 
bride  is  ready  to  go  to  her  husband’s  home.  When  the  go- 
between  reaches  the  bride’s  home  the  latter’s  people  begin  to 
chide  and  blame  the  go-between  for  arranging  an  affair  which 
means  the  loss  of  the  daughter  whom  all  are  so  fond  of. 
Sometimes  the  girl’s  folk  beat  the  go-between  quite  severely. 
It  is  not  always  a paying  business  to  concern  oneself  in  the 
family  affairs  of  others. 

There  is  an  enormous  amount  of  eating  and  drinking  at 
the  weddings  of  important  Nosu.  When  the  Earth  Eye  Too, 
whose  burning  raids  were  referred  to  in  Chapter  IX.,  married 
his  only  son  to  the  daughter  of  another  Earth  Eye,  there  was 
a round  of  feasting  such  as  Nosuland  rarely  sees.  For  seven 
days  and  nights  the  feasting  was  kept  up.  Being  near  to 
Chinese  territory,  a lot  of  the  Chinese  eame  as  guests.  The 
marriage  of  the  son  of  the  most  important  chief  in  Southern 
Nosuland  was  a matter  to  interest  even  Chinese.  To  accom- 
modate the  pork-loving  appetites  of  his  Chinese  guests.  Chief 
Too  killed  one  hundred  and  forty  pigs.  For  the  Nosu  guests, 
forty  oxen  were  slain.  There  was  no  room  in  his  castle  for 
the  ten  thousand  guests  that  appeared  during  those  seven 
days  of  feasting,  so  the  substitute  for  tables  was  laid  ou  a 
plain  near  the  chief’s  castle.  The  wine,  or  rather  spirit,  drunk 
on  this  occasion  was  carried  around  in  water-buckets,  and 
the  guests  drank  as  if  they  were  drinking  water.  On  such 
occasions,  when  men  are  well  drunk,  there  is  often  a lot  of 
quarrelling  and  lighting.  These  fights,  however,  are  easily 


317 


AROUND  CORAL  BEADS 

stopped  when  anyone  of  importance  intervenes.  It  is  said 
also  that  women  can  readily  stop  a fight  between  two  men. 
If  two  Imsbands  are  trying  their  strength  on  each  other  in  a 
way  tliat  threatens  to  have  dangerous  results  the  w'ives  will 
come  and  lay  hold  each  of  the  liead-poke  of  her  husband. 
The  man  stops  at  once  at  this  action,  and  meekly  goes  away 
w’ith  his  wife.  Such  is  the  story  I was  told,  and  though  I 
believe  it  to  be  true  I should  like  to  see  the  story  carried  out 
before  vouching  for  its  accuracy. 

Although  the  feast  for  the  Coral  Girl’s  wedding  was  not 
such  a brilliant  affair  as  that  for  the  son  of  Chief  Too,  it  was 
a great  day  in  her  life.  She  soon  settled  down  to  the  ordinary 
life  of  the  wife  of  a full  Black  Blood.  Before  very  long  she 
came  up  against  a trouble  which  has  been  one  of  the  most 
terrible  scourges  of  Nosuland.  Typhoid  fever  came  to  the 
home,  and  then  the  days  were  very  black  indeed.  Typhoid 
is  one  of  the  greatest  enemies  of  a Nosu  home.  The  stories 
that  come  to  one  about  the  ravages  of  this  pestilence  are 
heart-rending.  \Uiile  I am  WTiting  this,  away  over  some  hills 
at  the  back  there  are  a number  of  Nosu  ill  witUtyphoid,  and 
several  have  died.  So  virulent  is  it  in  that  direction  that  the 
folk  say  : “ 111  one  die  one.” 

Two  or  three  years  ago  typhoid  attacked  an  aborigine 
family.  Every  member  of  the  family  died  and  the  neighbours 
were  too  afraid  of  contagion  to  biu’y  the  dead.  I was  told 
that  dogs  devoured  the  corpses.  This  happened  south  of  the 
Yangtse,  and  not  among  the  hills  of  Nosuland.  I have  heard 
typhoid  stories  even  worse  than  this. 

Coral  Beads  and  her  husband  both  fell  ill.  The  wizards 
came  and  went  through  their  incantations,  hoping  to  drive 
away  the  demon  that  is  so  much  dreaded.  They  failed,  as 


318 


A WREATH  OF  STONES 


they  so  often  fail,  and  both  the  sick  folk  died,  leaving  two 
little  orphan  boys  behind.  Somewhere  on  the  hills  of  Nosu- 
land  there  is  a small  circle  of  stones.  Just  below  the  soil 
there  rest  a few  ashes,  and  these  are  the  remains  of  the  Girl 
with  the  Coral  Beads. 

Her  brother  Vri-ha  lives  on  and  takes  his  share  in  the  tribal 
fights.  He  and  the  Nosu  who  boxed  with  the  Frenchman 
had  a quarrel,  and  it  was  determined  to  fight  it  out.  The 
boxer’s  band  was  the  stronger,  and  drove  Vri-ha  and  his 
party  into  a tower.  It  was  proposed  to  burn  the  tow'er 
down,  but  better  counsels  prevailed,  and  the  attacking  party 
retired.  As  they  were  retiring  Vri-ha  fired  and  killed  one  of 
the  boxer’s  men.  There  is  no  chance  yet  of  the  quarrel 
between  these  two  relatives  being  made  up.  Again  blood 
will  have  to  wipe  out  blood  and  the  vicious  circle  will  continue 
to  revolve  its  round  of  death. 

Over  the  scenes  that  seemed  so  fair  a short  time  ago  these 
terrible  troubles  have  come.  Leprosy  and  suicide  have 
taken  away  the  brave  Vri-ntee.  The  black  scourge,  typhoid, 
has  sent  Coral  Beads  and  her  husband  to  the  cremation  fires, 
and  the  tribal  fights  have  separated  relatives  who  seemed  so 
friendly  w'hen  Mr  Long  and  Nhe-jah-jah  were  wandering 
around  among  the  hills  of  Nosuland. 

Tlie  white  towers  along  the  valley  of  the  Upper  Yangtse 
still  tell  their  story  of  the  fear  of  the  hillmen.  The  Chinese 
near  the  rushing  waters  still  sing  their  songs  of  love  and  passion 
and  the  raids  of  the  aborigines.  Mr  Tien  is  still  the  chief 
man  of  the  ferry  town,  but,  in  spite  of  marrying  many  w'ives, 
has  no  son.  Providence  is  therefore  said  to  be  on  the  side 
of  the  many  who  have  suffered  from  his  all-too-successful 
plottings.  The  rapids  at  Shin  Chan  Kco  roar  and  tumble 


A1U)UND  CORAL  BEADS 


819 


in  tlieir  mad  rush  to  the  sea.  Now  and  again  tlic  white  clouds 
fill  the  whole  of  the  valley  between  the  hills  of  Chaotung 
and  the  hills  where  the  brave  tribesmen  live  and  love  and 
M'onder.  IMien  one  looks  on  tlmt  superb  white  way  that 
joins  the  south  and  the  north  together  one  wishes  that  the 
days  when  Chinese  soldiers  shall  tramp  through  those 
valleys  and  over  those  hills,  bringing  change,  destruction,  idol 
temples,  crippled  feet,  unsightly  graves  and  huge,  ungainly 
coffins,  may  be  in  the  very  far  distance.  Then  again,  when 
the  white  clouds  arc  gone,  and  one  thinks  of  the  last  stand 
in  the  burning  tower,  and  of  the  never-ending  blood  feuds 
where  blood  suceeeds  blood  and  never  satisfies  the  inexorable 
demands  of  the  law  of  revenge,  one  wishes  for  a settled 
Government  which  shall  keep  all  the  chiefs  in  order.  Wliat- 
ever  happens,  best  wishes  and  God’s  blessing  to  all  the  kind 
friends  of  Unknown  China. 


INDEX 


Aboriginal  races,  51 
Ah-Ku,  231 
Ah-Pooh,  115 
Ali-yee  the  Earth  Eye,  153 
An  the  Earth  Eye  and  Le-chec, 
151,  156 

Anti-opiuui  campaign,  152 
Athletics  amongst  the  Chinese, 
173 


Baber,  Mr  Colborne,  256 
Bahus,  the,  45 
BamhiH)  candle,  a,  233 
Barter  and  exchange,  103 
Bears,  205 
Bears’  paws,  103 
Bedrooms,  primitiTC,  80 
Birds,  fighting.  238 
Black  bloods,  180 
Black  Nosu,  the,  137 
Blockhouses,  36 
Boars,  84 

Books  and  manuscripts,  258 
Boxer,  a Nosu,  78 
Breakfast,  a Nosu,  123 
Brooches,  Nosu,  120 
Brooke,  Lieutenant,  125 
“ Broth  of  Oblivion,”  44 
Buckwheat  cakes,  268 
Buddhism,  181 
Burials,  Chinese,  120 


Camera,  my,  68 
Cannibal  feast,  a,  273 
Capes,  100 
Caste,  137 

Cavalry,  Chinese,  301 
Caves,  fortified,  40 
‘‘Changing  tenancies,”  143 
Chao,  303 
Chaotung,  32,  61 
Charms,  107,  108,  217 
Chen,  H.  E.,  71 
Chentu,  opium  dens  at,  172 

X 


Child  life  and  sufTcring  in  China 
130 

(!hina  as  a conquering  nation,  53 
Chinaman’s  mind,  the,  48 
China’s  Hidden  Menace,”  208 
Chinese,  athletics  amongst  the 
173 

('hinese  and  Mantsz,  38 
Chinese  grave,  a,  272 
Chinese  land  system,  145 
Chinese,  morality  of  the,  171 
Chinoso  wives,  148 
(Oiineso  women,  feet  of,  07 
(Oiineso  written  language,  257 
(’hungking,  28 
Clan  warfare,  244 
Coffin  boards,  114 
Cooking,  Nosu,  105 
Courtesy  in  Nosuland,  210 
Cremation,  127 
Crime  and  criminal.s,  160 
Cultivation  near  the  Yangtse,  42 
Cursing,  a pole  of,  220 

Dandy,  a,  130 
Death  customs,  127 
“ Defender  of  the  Yangt.se,”  21 
Dentistry,  Nosu,  274 
Disease  in  China,  180 
Disputes,  a method  of  settling 
201 

Dogs,  Nosu,  64 

Dolls  and  witchcraft,  03 

Dress,  Nosu,  120 

Earth  Eyes,  137,  180 

Earth  Eyes,  stories  about,  146 

Edelweiss,  64 

Eggs  used  by  wizards,  180 

El  Dorado,  135 

Escort,  a strong,  271 

'•  P’airy  Bridge,”  the,  32 
Feast,  a Nosu,  63 


322 


INDEX 


Felt  cloaks,  196 

Ferries  on  the  Yangtse,  42,  71,  285 

Feudal  system,  137 

Fishing  in  the  Yangtse,  31 

Flowers  in  Nosuland,  126 

Fowls,  90 

Fratricide,  150 

Frost  and  snow,  195 

Fukwan,  30 

Furniture,  lack  of,  88 


Gag,  an  elleetive,  83 
Girl  with  coral  beads,  17,  219, 
297, 315 

Goats  and  sheep,  66 
Gold,  135 

Golden  pheasants,  206 
Grass,  a troublesome,  82 
Grimm’s  law,  an  Oriental,  265 
Gu-tieh,  197 
Guns,  Nosu,  220 
Gypsum,  35 


Hades,  Chinese  conception  of, 
253 

Hardiness  of  the  Nosu,  176 
Hawser  bridge,  a,  46 
Head  horns,  235 
Headdress,  a huge,  116 
Hen  river,  the,  32 
Hill  of  Slippery  Sand,  the,  43 
Hill  men,  wild,  39 
Honesty  of  the  Nosu,  194 
Hong-Kong,  51 
Horse  riding,  132 
Horses,  the  value  of,  133 
Horses,  West  China,  270 
Hospitality,  109 
Household,  a Nosu,  05,  201 
Hsi-liang,  Viceroy,  308 
Hsu,  Mr,  61 


ICHANG,  26 

Illustrated  Records  of  the  Aborigin- 
als of  Yunnan,  311 
Indemnity  for  shedding  blood,  203 


Japanese  language,  the,  65 
Japanese  War,  the,  20 
Jews’  harp,  a,  225 


Kidnapping  a wife,  156 

Lai-lai  and  Sha-ma  clans,  278 
Lamas,  the,  180 
Land  nationalisation,  145 
Languages,  Nosu  and  Miao,  55, 
256 

Laughter,the  value  of,  86 
Legend  of  a pool  and  a snake,  227 
Leopards,  91 
Leprosy,  183 
Li  Hung-chang,  304 
Little  and  Great  Danger,  33 
Little,  Mr  A.,  29 
Liu,  or  transporter,  46 
Lo,  arbitrator,  72,  290 
Lo-chee,  146 
Lolo,  the,  38 
Long,  General,  53 
Long,  Mr,  18,  61,  63,  65,  81,  102, 
124,  174,  185,  228 
Luh,  Chief,  307 

Magio  lantern,  my,  22,  113,  124, 
225 

Magic  mountains,  182 
Magpies,  177 
Manchuria,  300 
Mandarin,  powers  of  a,  71 
Mandarin  rule,  145 
Mandarin’s  home,  a,  26 
Mantsz,  the,  37 
Mao  Shui  Kong,  30 
Margary,  20 

Marriage  among  the  Nosu,  102 
Marriage  problem,  a,  97 
Matrimonial  plan,  an  unwelcome, 
228 

Medicines,  184 

Mengtse,  20 

Miao  men,  52 

Mi-tieh,  20 

Mock  fight,  a,  240 

Mohammedan  rebellion,  the,  178 

Morality,  170 

Mother,  a courageous,  61 

Mouth  organ,  a useful,  125 

JMus  brooms,  103 

Myths,  Nosu,  223 

Navigation  on  the  Yangtse,  28 
Necromancers,  a dupe  oi,  154 


INDEX 


323 


Nhe-ja-ja,  120 
Njeh  clan,  the,  200 
Noflu,  the,  21  ; and  Chinese,  23, 
38.  54  ; language.  55  ; origin, 
67  ; houses,  64  ; dogs,  64,  80  ; 
a chief,  91 ; simple  amuse- 
ments, 92;  wizards,  93,  106; 
females,  97  ; Too,  98  ; water- 
carrying,  101  ; women,  102 ; 
marriage,  102 ; tree-climhing, 
103  ; cooking,  105  ; men,  105  ; 
hospitality.  109;  supper.  111  ; 
head-dress,  116;  trial  by 
ordeal,  117  ; dress,  120  ; pipes, 
121  ; breakfast,  123 ; death 
customs,  127 ; spear  hghting, 
131  ; stone-throwing,  131  ; 
horse  - riding,  132  ; feudal 
system,  137 ; retainers  and 
slaves,  140  ; rents,  143  ; Earth 
Eyes,  146  ; their  crimes,  156  ; 
morality,  170;  sports,  174; 
troubadours,  174 ; hardiness, 
176;  social  ranks,  180; 
honesty,  194;  raiders,  202; 
etiquette,  216;  myths,  223; 
philosophy,  225  ; opium,  238  ; 
mock  battle,  240  ; warfare,  243; 
Pee-mo,  248  ; ideas  of  future 
life,  253 ; language,  266 ; 
dentistry,  274 

Nosuland,  first  impressions,  80 ; 
primitive  bedrooms,  89  ; dwarf 
oak-trees,  99:  sheep,  100; 

Chie  - tsu  Leh  - chieh,  105  ; 
scenery,  114;  flowers,  126; 
magpies,  177  ; frost  and  snow, 
195  : houses,  201 

Nya-pa  and  the  looking-glass,  208 


Oak-tbees,  dwarf,  99 
Oatmeal  and  cold  water,  198 
Oil  for  burning,  234 
Oil-tree  orchards,  34 
Olive-trees,  84 
Oo-Chi  Lama,  the,  180 
Opium  in  Nosuland,  238 
Ordeal,  trial  by,  117 
Oxhide  Rapid,  the,  30 

“ Palaces  ” or  secret  societies,  74 
Pee-mo  or  wizards,  248 


Peh-eye  the  Earth  Eye,  164 
Philosophy,  Nosu,  225 
Pipes,  Nosu  tobacco,  121 
Plain  of  the  Great  Well,  45 
Plant,  Captain,  29 
Plot,  Mr  Tien’s,  177 
Plots,  73 
Polyandry,  181 
Ponies,  diminutive,  134 


Rafts  on  the  Yangtse,  34 
“ Ragging  ” by  women,  170 
Raiders,  40 
Raiding,  202 
Ransom  and  torture,  282 
Rapids  of  the  Yantgse,  28,  30 
Raven,  the  tit  and  the  wren,  story 
of.  99 

Religions,  251 
Rent,  payment  of,  139 
Retainers  and  slaves,  140 
Revenge,  the  law  of,  121 
Rice-fields,  85 
Rim  of  the  Iron  Pan, 34 
Road,  a diflScult,  83 
Roads,  dreadful,  269 
Romance,  a Nosu,  154 


Salt  as  a medium  of  exchange, 
103 

Savin,  Dr  L.,  185 
Secret  societies,  73 
Sha-ma  clan,  the,  122 
Shan,  the,  54 

Shanghai,  mixed  races  in,  50 
Sheep,  Nosu,  100 
Shih-ha  Chich-ku,  210 
Shin  Chan  Keo,  69 
Silkworms,  100 
Silver  mines,  abandoned,  76 
Slaves  and  retainers,  marriage  of, 
142 

Social  ranks,  180 
Spear  fighting,  131 
Spirits  and  wine  drinkers,  46 
Sports  amongst  the  Nosu,  174 
State  robes,  246 
Stone  mills,  237 
Stone-throwers,  Nosu,  77,  131 
Stories  of  the  origin  of  the  Nosu, 
57 


324 


INDEX 


Story  of  the  Three  Kingdoms,  The, 

Stratagem,  a Nosu,  241 
Sugar,  brown,  99 
Sugar  cane,  84 
Suicide,  187 

Suit  of  clothes,  a laughter-causing. 

Sun  Yat-sen,  Dr,  146 
Supper,  a Nosu,  111 
Sweet  turnips,  197 


Taiping  rebels  and  the  varnish, 
234 

Taxes,  payment  of,  138 
Telescope,  a powerful,  68,  81 
Temple  of  Hades,  the,  43 
Tenants  and  landlords,  144 
Teng-Shiao,  Mr,  75,  78 
Teofu,  35 
Thrushes,  238 

Tibetan  written  language,  181 
Tibetans,  the,  180 
Tigers,  205 

Tien,  Mr,  70,  117,  280 
Tobacco-smoking  horse,  a,  153 
Too,  overlord,  98,  118 
Towers,  borderland,  41 
Traffic  on  the  Yangtse,  32 
Transporter  bridge,  a,  46 
Tree-climbing,  103 
Trees,  Nosu,  114 
Tribal  warfare,  45 
Tribes  of  Western  China,  54 
Tribute  of  horses,  135 
Troubadours,  175 
Tung-tree,  the,  234 


Two  sisters,  the,  167 
Tyranny  and  oppression,  163 

Unchivalbous  China,  211 
Unofficial  Records  of  the  Southern 
Stale,  59 


Va-sa-neh,  134 
Vri-ha,  21,  94,  210 
Vri-ntee,  182 


Wan  Tan  Ping,  136 
War  dress,  Nosu,  222 
War  whoop,  a Nosu,  82 
Warfare,  Nosu  method  of,  243 
Warning,  a,  68 
Water-carrying,  101 
Weddings,  expensive,  232 
White  Nosu,  the,  137,  180 
Wilkinsoi',  Sir  W.  H.,  309 
Wine,  a gift  of,  177 
Wine  and  wine  cups,  217 
Wizards,  93,  180,  189,  246,  313 
Wolves,  66,  221 
“ Woman’s  Kingdom,”  the,  223 
Women,  Chinese  and  hill,  52 
Women’s  place  in  China,  211 
Wood,  scarcity  of,  33 
Worries  of  missionary  life,  212 
Wrestling,  267 
Wu  Ting  Fang,  Dr,  53 


Yangtse  river,  the,  25 
Yunnan  people,  the,  284 


THK  RIVERSIDE  PRESS  LIMITED,  BDINBUReH 


O K I y 


Gulf 


sbl'Li 


TAI -W 


T I Ml  E 


/ Su$ 

iWu  hit 


tIOAK  KU<0 


f-ckan^ 


'Nin^  Vg 
tlANG 


Kill  lean  ( 


^Jliran^ 


iSASG 


aiASr, 


/nosuI 

■LANo| 


KW^-  CHAIT 


KWFJUM 


fOBMOSA 


KW4NG-TUN 


fnuug^B^ 


/ Porti  opal  to  lihttiwrimVd  Aiu 


AbvucnM  iMu>;mf<nuui  zsiae.ujj 


SEICLLIY  SERVICE  6- CO.  LTD 


MAP  OF  CHINA. 


i 


